TOGETHER WITH

It’s Thursday and a new Google Doodle celebrates TikTok creators’ greatest rivals and most feared opponents: cicadas.

GOING PRO

MrBeast is adding a game-changing tier to his YouTube analytics platform

The announcement: ViewStats is the YouTube analytics platform co-founded by MrBeast and Chucky Appleby.

They designed it to help creators become better at creating (specifically on YouTube…at least for now). The site gives the masses access to the same tools, hints, tips, and tricks that MrBeast and his team have used to propel him to become the biggest creator of all-time.

Now there’s a brand-new Pro tier with even more offerings.

• During a discussion with creator economy expert Jon Youshaei, MrBeast (aka Jimmy Donaldson) revealed that the Pro edition of ViewStats is designed to help the company recoup costs while being “as cheap as possible.”
  
  

• The YouTuber added that ViewStats has already spent $2 million converting internal tools into user-ready products. Many of those features are available via ViewStats’ basic dashboard, where users can find the same viewership data that informs MrBeast videos.

The perks: Free access to that dashboard isn’t going away—but for users willing to foot a $49.99/month bill, ViewStats Pro offers some pretty compelling perks. In addition to getting first dibs on “a dozen other” yet-to-be-announced tools, users who subscribe to Pro will gain access to five initial features:

1. Outliers: A feature that attempts to explain why some videos get exponentially more views than others.
   
   

2. Thumbnail Search: A tool for finding thumbnails similar to those selected by users.
   
   

3. Alerts: Customizable notifications that let creators know when other channels upload content on specific topics.
   
   

4. Collections: An “organized place” to group together multiple ViewStats Pro videos in one space.
   
   

5. And—most notably—access to “every A/B thumbnail test ran on YouTube” (per MrBeast).

Why it matters: Back in December, Donaldson told Tubefilter that ViewStats emerged out of a six-year quest to present YouTube statistics in a customizable layout. That alone is a game changer—but Pro takes Donaldson’s and Appleby’s mission to a whole new level. By giving creators the ability to track individual trends and A/B tests en masse, ViewStats opens the door for a new era of analytically-driven chart-toppers.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

Shape the future of digital media with an Industry Track ticket to VidCon Anaheim

The biggest annual event in digital video is only a few weeks away. From June 26-29, VidCon will take over the Anaheim Convention Center for four days of networking, innovation, and peer-to-peer learning. 

With an Industry Track ticket, you’ll have VIP access to all things VidCon.

VidCon’s Industry Track provides unparalleled access to the movers and shakers of the creator economy through exclusive mentorships, fireside chats, and more—not to mention unlimited entry into every single Community and Creator Track experience.

🌟 This year’s Industry Track theme: The Creator Economy Comes of Age. 🌟

2024 Industry Track participants will gain invaluable insights as leading creators and industry pros explore the next big things in digital media, from the rise of creator-led corporate enterprises to the growing impact of generative AI. 

Ready to delve into emerging trends and actionable growth strategies alongside the creator economy’s top execs, creators, and entrepreneurs? All you need is an Industry Track ticket.

Claim your spot at VidCon →

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has set a September date for oral arguments in two cases that will determine whether an anti-TikTok “divest-or-ban” law violates the Constitution. (Tubefilter)
  

• Pinterest is rebranding its Creator Inclusion Fund as the “Pinterest Inclusion Fund” and opening applications to small business owners from underrepresented backgrounds. (TechCrunch)
  ​

• Meta says it recently shut down six covert influence campaigns, which included networks of fake accounts originating in Israel, Iran, China, Bangladesh, and Croatia. (The Verge)
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• Thanks to a recent update, ChatGPT users no longer have to subscribe to paid plans to discover and use custom GPTs. (The Verge)

COLUMNS • CREATORS ON THE RISE 📈

This creator is mastering the art of cosplay one character at a time

How it started: Fearfiction has always been into anime. But cosplay?
Cosplay always seemed just a little too intimidating—at least, until Fearfiction discovered a less intense (and cheaper) version of the pastime: closet cosplay.

• Assembling ensembles with items she already owned seemed a whole lot easier than sewing, crafting, and styling an entirely new look—and, more importantly, Fearfiction loved it.
  
  

• The creator’s TikTok and Instagram viewers were just as enthused. In fact, it wasn’t long before Fearfiction’s content switched almost entirely from modeling videos to closet cosplays.
  

• When she hit 50,000 followers in 2022, Fearfiction knew it was time to make the final leap: she was ready to create her first-ever made-from-scratch cosplay.

How it’s going: Videos chronicling that process “did super well,” so Fearfiction kept going. She’s now completed dozens of high-quality cosplays from shows like Cowboy Bebop and Ouran High School Host Club, and has grown her fanbase to over 330,000 TikTok followers and 250,000 Instagram followers.

• At the same time, Fearfiction has devoted her energy to mastering each skillset required by cosplay. She’s studied up on sewing, fine-tuned her makeup techniques, and even revamped her lighting setup. Now, the creator is officially in her “wig-styling arc.”

What’s next: Despite her success, Fearfiction isn’t putting all her eggs in one basket. While she’d love to be a full-time creator “one day,” she isn’t quite ready to give up her 9-to-5 job. Instead, the creator says she’s happy to be “going with the flow” and improving her skills with each new cosplay.

CAT COIN 📈

YouTube’s first-ever cat video is becoming a memecoin—and YouTube Co-Founder Steve Chen is fully on board

The cat: Way back in 2005, a cat named Pajamas became a YouTube icon. The feline in question belonged to YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, who uploaded several videos of his late pal in the early aughts.

The coin: Those videos are no longer the internet’s only mementos of Pajamas. Thanks to a memorial memecoin launched on the Solana blockchain earlier this year, the viral cat’s memory will live on for however long cryptocurrency stays en vogue.

• Chen himself has become an outspoken supporter of that tribute. The entrepreneur enthusiastically backed $PAJAMAS after being alerted to its presence by social media followers, and later revealed to Cointelegraph that he has spent 80 to 100 hours per week working on the coin.

• $PAJAMAS is currently trading at $0.03118 with a daily volume of around $2 million and a total market cap of $30.65 million! That’s an 8X increase since its April lows. 📈

The context: Chen’s affinity for $PAJAMAS doesn’t necessarily extend to the rest of the crypto industry. In fact, the YouTube co-founder told Cointelegraph that he’s taking a cautious approach to web3:

• Chen’s skepticism isn’t a rarity in the tech industry—but opinions on crypto seem to be shifting in Washington. Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump have made moves to woo the crypto community in recent days, while companies within the web3 industry seem to be on a mission to “flood the 2024 election with cash” (per Barron’s).

WATCH THIS 📺

Discord is going back to its gaming roots

The update: On May 29, Discord CEO Jason Citron celebrated the platform’s ninth birthday with a blog post outlining its “Next Chapter.”

• The main takeaway: Citron says Discord recognizes “the need to narrow our focus from broadly being a community-centric chat app to being a place that helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests.”
  
  

• To reach that goal, the platform plans to expand its cross-platform capabilities, prioritize fast and reliable communication, and develop “more fun stuff” for users to access when they aren’t playing video games (a hobby that around 90% of Discord users apparently share).

The video: Don’t have time to scroll through a long blog post? Check out the accompanying YouTube video here.

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. Drew Baldwin helped edit, too. It's a team effort.