It’s Monday and Reid Hoffman’s mission to build his own AI twin has us wondering: if you could sit down for a deep conversation with your digital doppelgänger, would you?

FIRST QUARTER GAINS

YouTube scored its highest quarterly ad sales total ever in Q1: $8.1 billion

The summary: Alphabet is enjoying the after-effects of a stellar first quarter. The parent company of Google and YouTube exceeded analyst expectations by scoring $80.54 billion in Q1 revenue (a number that represents a 15% year-over-year increase).

• The result: Alphabet saw its biggest stock boost in nearly a decade on Friday, when its share price shot up 10% before leveling out later in the day.

The stats: YouTube played a key role in Alphabet’s Q1 success. While the platform’s subscription revenue declined quarter-over-quarter (likely due to an emptier NFL schedule), a 21% year-over-year rise in ad sales helped YouTube reach its highest quarterly total to date: $8.1 billion.

• Shorts ads had a lot to do with that growth. During Alphabet’s earnings call, Google Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler noted that the number of channels that upload to YouTube Shorts has risen 50% year-over-year. He added that the YouTube Partner Program has paid out “more than any other creator monetization platform.”

The context: Monetization options like Shorts ads have proven to be a lifeline for many creators—but Alphabet’s first quarter wasn’t all high sales figures and rising share value. The size of the company’s workforce fell by 5% year-over-year (to a total of 180,895 workers), while YouTube laid off approximately 100 people at the start of Q1.

• Fellow tech giants like Amazon and Dell took similar measures to restructure in Q1. That spike in efficiency-related layoffs—especially when combined with rising revenue figures—has sparked fears that the rise of AI will lead to fewer job opportunities for industry professionals.

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Snap posted Q1 earnings of $1.19 billion—a 21% year-over-year increase from Q1 2023. The result: shares jumped 25% following the company’s report to investors. (Tubefilter)
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• Soccer media company Footballco has tapped Bustle Digital Group vet Jason Wagenheim to serve as its CEO of North America. (Tubefilter)
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• According to The Verge, several users of Meta’s Advantage Plus service say the AI-driven ad campaigns are “blowing through budgets and failing to deliver sales.” (The Verge)
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• Screenshots from mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi suggest that Instagram’s in-development “AI studio” feature will allow users to create AI chatbots, games, and more. (The Verge)

DATA • MILLIONAIRES 📈

Meet TikTok’s favorite lesbian lumberjack

How it started: When Nicole Coenen moved to a small island off the west coast of Canada, she wasn’t expecting to become an “online woodchopping” creator. She’d chopped wood before, sure—but never while filming a “lesbian thirst trap” or spoofing the one and only “woodchopper king” (aka creator Thoren Bradley).

• It wasn’t until Coenen became “immersed” in a local group (a cohort of mostly retired men who raise funds for local initiatives) that she took her first steps into TikTok’s surprisingly robust woodchopping community.
  
  

• Before then, Coenen mostly posted “little lifestyle videos” on TikTok. She loved creating “micro stories” for viewers, but it hadn’t yet occurred to her to incorporate woodworking into that content. Then Coenen came across a Thoren Bradley clip—and figured she might as well use her newfound chopping skills to make a spoof video.
  
  

• Viewers loved it. By the time one of Coenen’s videos (a slow-motion “lesbian thirst trap”) hit a million views, her previously ironic content had clearly “become its own thing.”

How it’s going: A little over a year later, Coenen’s TikTok account has grown to encompass more than 1 million followers. She now creates content full-time and has expanded her audience to include 1.2 million subscribers on YouTube, 2.1 million followers on Instagram, and nearly 450,000 on Facebook. 

What’s next: Going forward, Coenen says she “would love to move more into long-form.” Those videos will show viewers a different side of the woodchopper’s life, including “a bunch of adventures” with her partner.

• Coenon is making moves offline, too. Although the idea is still “in the very early stages,” the creator says she’s considering “doing a book about firewood and woodchopping.” Find out more about her next steps here.

CREATORS IN FASHION

MatPat just revealed a brand-new Theorist apparel line

MatPat might be abdicating his role as an on-screen host of Theorist, but that doesn’t mean he’s done sharing breaking news with fans.

The announcement: On April 25, the Theorist founder (whose real name is Matthew Patrick) delighted audience members at Style Theory’s Creators in Fashion show by announcing the debut of a new apparel brand called Lumen. Attendees got a sneak peek at items from the apparel brand’s futuristic 16-piece summer line, which can be found on its website here.

• A press release describes Lumen—which includes items inspired by fictional worlds and IP like Dune, Godzilla vs. Kong, and Five Nights at Freddy’s—as an extension of Theorywear, a preexisting apparel brand under the umbrella of Theorist. Lunar X (a startup that acquired MatPat and Stephanie Patrick’s long-running YouTube biz last year) played a pivotal role in the apparel brand’s launch.

The context: Creators in Fashion may signify MatPat’s last official gig as an on-screen Theorist personality, but the shoppable event also demonstrates the studio’s ongoing commitment to carving out a space for creator entrepreneurs. In addition to Lumen’s summer collection, lines from YouTube stars like ZHC, Cassey Ho, and Yes Theory hit the runway during the two-hour stream, which was hosted by MatPat and Style Theory creative director Amy Roberts.

• Lumen plans to debut some creator collabs of its own later in the year, so don’t forget to check out Tubefilter’s website for updates.

LISTEN UP 🎙️

This week on the podcast…

Perspectives on the ban: TikTok’s creator community is reeling in the wake of the “divest-or-ban” bill’s passage—and the countdown to a potential sale or shuttering has only just begun. To unravel that chaos, Josh Cohen and Lauren Schnipper joined forces with a stunning lineup of media experts, creators, and small business owners in the latest episode of Creator Upload.

• Tune in to hear perspectives from contributors like Kaya Yurieff, Liz Perle, Matt Bilinsky, Opu Probiotics owner Tiffany Krumins, Country Lather Soap Works owner Jessie Whittington, news creator Jackson Gosnell, Brandon the Plant Guy, Love & Pebble co-founder Paul Tran, and Brian Nelson of The Network Effect.
  
  

• It’s all right here on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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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.