TOGETHER WITH

It’s Monday and Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to hit the brakes on a TikTok ban. His attorney’s argument: “President Trump alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution.”

Today’s News

BACK TO THE FUTURE

YouTube wants to bring back old-school discovery and let you “Play Something”

The trend: Nostalgia for ye old internet is on the rise, with viewers seeking out old-school-style websites like IMG_0001 to immerse themselves in the early days of non-algorithmic discovery. IMG_0001 harkens back to the web of the 2000s by surfacing random, little-viewed videos from the long tail of YouTube’s library. Now, the Alphabet-owned platform is claiming its own piece of the action.

The test feature: The latest update to the YouTube Android app expands the availability of the Play Something button, a roughly year-old test feature that lets users play random videos with a single tap. Tapping the Play Something prompt opens up the vertical Shorts player and initiates playback on a seemingly random upload (including long-form videos that have been reformatted for mobile viewing).

The future: Plenty of experimental YouTube features never see a wide rollout, but the expansion of Play Something seems like a sign that the nostalgia-driven tool could go all the way. The demand seems to be there, too: in addition to sites like IMG_0001, major social media platforms like TikTok and Threads have recently embraced a pivot to more organic, old-school forms of discovery.

On the other hand, there are already a handful of YouTube videos showing viewers how to remove the Play Something button—meaning not everyone is thrilled to see a blast from the past floating across their home screen.

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The results are in. Here are the final nominees for this year’s 1B Awards:

Over the last three weeks, 16,000+ applications were submitted to this year’s 1B Awards—a $1 million competition honoring creators who positively impact their communities with innovative ideas.

Of those 16,000+ creators, 10 nominees were selected to continue on. Here’s a sneak peek at the full list of finalists:

1. Adanna Steinacker: A former doctor, Steinacker gave up her job in the medical field to become a full-time YouTuber. Her channel, House of Adanna, focuses on women's health and well-being. 

2. Nirmal Purja: Nepal-born creator Purja is a former UK Special Boat service member who climbed all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks in under 7 months. His foundation supports Himalayan communities, environmental conservation, and mountaineering projects for UK armed forces veterans.
   
   

3. Simon Squibb: An influential public speaker, Squibb runs a YouTube channel where he educates the next generation of entrepreneurs while actively supporting businesses that aim to address social or environmental challenges.

Steinacker, Purja, Squibb, and seven other finalists will head to Dubai in January, when a single winner will be announced at the 1 Billion Followers Summit—and awarded a $1 million prize. 

Hit the link below to find out more:

Explore the Summit →

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• OpenAI says its new AI reasoning model has achieved human-level results on the ARC-AGI benchmark, a test designed to measure “general intelligence.” (Gizmodo)
  
  

• Gaming creators are pushing for changes to YouTube’s copyright strike system following harassment from a fake Nintendo lawyer. (Ars Technica) 
  
  

• Did deepfakes actually impact the U.S. election? A report from the News Literacy Project found that only 6% of 1,000 instances of electoral misinformation were AI-generated. (Gizmodo)
  
  

• Valkyrae has announced an upcoming return to Twitch following the completion of her “last contract streaming exclusively on YouTube.” (GameRant)
  

HAVE YOU HEARD?

Have you heard? MrBeast has a new rival, Netflix scores a touchdown, and Meta takes on Congress

The column: Every week, we handpick a selection of stories to give you a snapshot of trends and business news dominating the creator industry. December’s final roundup is all about face-offs, from Meta vs. Congress to Beast Games vs. Squid Game.

Battle of the game shows: Forget T-Series—Squid Game is MrBeast’s new rival. The second season of the dystopian Netflix hit and Jimmy Donaldson’s Amazon original are on similar release schedules, meaning Beast Games could be facing some serious competition. Of course, Squid Games’ popularity isn’t all bad for MrBeast; if he decides to resurrect his real-life YouTube gauntlet to celebrate Season 2, he could be looking at another record-breaking upload.

Streaming stats: A less dystopian pair of games has already proven to be a record-breaker for Netflix. The streaming platform scored a touchdown with Christmas Day NFL coverage of the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans vs. the Baltimore Ravens. More than 24 million viewers tuned in to watch those matchups, with peak viewership coming during the Beyoncé halftime performance of the Ravens/Texans game. Thanks, Bey!

Politics as usual: Did Meta put the kibosh on the Kids Online Safety Act? Pressure from Mark Zuckerberg‘s lobbyists has reportedly undermined congressional support for the KOSA, a broad proposal that would enact new regulations on social media platforms. From Zuck to TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew, it seems like every Big Tech leader is finding ways to pull GOP strings.

GOING FOR THE GOLD

A nine-time Olympic gold medalist is the latest top athlete-turned-YouTuber

The creator: Caeleb Dressel is back on YouTube. Just a few months after representing the U.S. at the Summer 2024 Olympics, the nine-time gold medalist has turned his attention to teaching fans how to swim.

Since relaunching his personal channel in November, Dressel has uploaded three videos detailing specific elements of competitive swimming. The first of those guides—a primer for getting the “perfect start”—has earned close to 150,000 views. Dressel offered swimming insights through his channel before his hiatus and triumphant return, too. In a since-deleted series called Dressel Dissects, the Olympian broke down some of his biggest races.

Now, in addition to rebooting his YouTube channel, Dressel is offering further lessons through Swim Academy, a platform co-led by fellow swimming pro Drew Loy.

The context: Dressel’s return to YouTube comes at the perfect time. In the era of NIL deals, athletic content and sports creators have exploded across social media. Another swimming medalist, Bella Sims, starred in a Portal A-produced series that hit Instagram earlier this year, while Olympian Ilona Maher has become a viral sensation on TikTok.

WATCH THIS 📺

A new card game puts players’ social media skills to the test

The game: If you’re eager to escape doomscrolling but still need a social media fix, One Billion Users has the answer. The card game—which lets players launch their own platforms and compete with influencers—has blown past its Kickstarter goal by earning over $60,000 in funding.

Ready to find out if you could do a better job than social media bigwigs like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk? Check out a trailer for One Billion Users here.

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