It’s Friday, and Shaq is turning a viral meme into a full-blown reality show. So, what do you think—Can You Hide… Shaq?

INDUSTRY BUZZ

The problem: When YouTube changed how it counts public views in August, it said the new metric would “[give] creators a clearer picture of their overall exposure and [make] it easier to confidently express their true scale and value to brand partners.”

But the “clearer picture” that emerged was one of inflation. Data from Agentio showed public view counts over-reported actual views by 40%.

Now, the Interactive Advertising Bureau is calling for wide standardization of what counts as a “view.” In a report titled The Creator Economy’s Next Chapter, the IAB described accurate measurement as the “fault line beneath the creator economy.”

This overall conclusion came from 53 industry leaders who filled out the IAB’s survey, as well as senior industry leader interviews conducted by the IAB’s Creator Economy Board. When the IAB asked what’s not working in our space, 67% of respondents pointed to measurement as a top issue.

It’s not just marketers pushing for standardization. According to the IAB, measurement providers “were unanimous in choosing a common definition of a view as a top priority”—and they were “clear about where to start,” too.

The plan: Among the IAB’s respondents, another interesting data point emerged. The majority of entities that produce metrics say they are “very confident” in the accuracy of the numbers they provide—but brands and talent agencies both said they have zero percent confidence in numbers they receive.

To rectify that problem, the IAB plans to work alongside the Media Rating Council and other “engaged industry bodies” to help content platforms and measurement providers reach an agreement on cross-platform definitions of a view, an impression, reach, and watch time.

It says it hopes to secure one to two platform agreements within the first year of this effort.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

BY THE NUMBERS

The stats: The Pew Research Center has delivered its annual report on U.S. social media usage, and—no surprise here—YouTube is still the most ubiquitous social platform among Americans. But beyond the top spot, this year’s rankings differ depending on factors like age, gender, household income, and political orientation.

In last year’s report, the top-ranked finishers were the platforms that best reached older Americans. That trend has essentially held true; in 2026, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram went 1-2-3 in the overall ranking and were the most-used social hubs in the 65-and-older age bracket.

Apps focused on communication are also on the rise. Adoption of both Snapchat and WhatsApp rose 1% year-over-year, but those companies are making gains within different communities. Snapchat’s user base still skews toward female users—it reaches 30% of U.S. women and 21% of U.S. men—while WhatsApp now reaches a higher percentage of U.S. men, which wasn’t the case a year ago.

The stratification: Stats related to household income are also noteworthy. Snapchat is more common in U.S. households that make less than $70,000 per year, while WhatsApp reaches its highest percentage of Americans (40%) in households that earn at least $100,000 per year.

In general, social media use seems to be stratifying. Platforms like Facebook and TikTok tend to be more common in lower-income households, while LinkedIn appeals to Americans who are more well-off.

The economic polarization of U.S. social media can best be seen by examining the adoption of Nextdoor, a relatively new addition to Pew’s annual reports. The proportion of Americans using Nextdoor has risen by 5% over the past five years, but only 9% of Americans in households making $30,000 or less per year use the app. In households where annual income exceeds $100,000, that percentage jumps to 23%.

MOVIE BIZ

The distributor: After building brands alongside some of YouTube’s biggest kid-friendly stars, pocket.watch is increasing its presence in the world of film distribution. The creator media company has come on board as the exclusive worldwide distributor and sales agent for Reef to Ridge, a nature documentary directed by Brave Wilderness Co-Founder and CEO Mark Vins.

Reef to Ridge takes viewers to the Galapagos Islands, where Vins and his crew explore unique habitats and discuss the challenges hindering global conservation efforts. The project premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) as part of a showcase curated by YouTube.

Enter pocket.watch. In recent years, the media company has expanded its ventures to include some feature film and TV-style projects. Ryan’s World, for instance, came to movie theaters with a Titan Universe Adventure in 2024, and some of the internet’s biggest creators joined forces for a Hulu variety show called Rabbit Hole.

The context: By working with Vins to give Reef to Ridge a streaming premiere, pocket.watch is solving a problem that has stunted progress for some creators with Hollywood ambitions.

Major studios are eager to turn YouTube stars into feature directors, but the distributors attached to those projects are often old school film industry firms like A24 and Neon. At the same time, creators who eschew traditional distribution often encounter significant obstacles (something Markiplier discovered when he attempted to bring his video game adaptation Iron Lung to YouTube).

As a creator media company, pocket.watch can pursue global distribution for a project like Reef to Ridge while also understanding the needs of a creator director—and Vins’ film is just the start. According to a press release from pocket.watch, more announcements of this nature will arrive “by year’s end.”

WATCH THIS 👀

The triumphant return: It’s been nearly three years since MatPat (aka Matthew Patrick) revealed that he’d be stepping down as the host of Game Theory, Film Theory, Food Theory, and Style Theory. Since then, he and Theorist cofounder/fellow creator/wife Stephanie Patrick have spent their time “making movies, writing a musical, consulting platforms on how to respect creators, and (maybe?) changing the course of American politics.”

At least, that’s what the blurb under one of their latest videos says—because the Patricks are back on YouTube. On November 12, the duo uploaded two videos to a new “PatChat” channel.

Check it out here to find out why the creator power couple have returned to YouTube after a 943-day hiatus and how they plan to “help Congress understand the internet.”

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.