💯 Everything you need to know about the creator economy this week.

How To Make Your First Post on Lemon8

TikTok’s unofficial new adage is: “when life gives you lemons, make Lemon8.” Just in case the app gets banned in the U.S. (we’re still waiting to find out), its parent company ByteDance has quietly launched a fun new platform called Lemon8 – and creators are already jumping on board. 

Designed with built-in editing tools, including templates, fonts, and stickers, Lemon8 seems to be a creator’s dream come true. How does it work exactly? And will it be a useful tool for monetization? Only time will tell. But you can become one of the early adopters now, and use it as a way to engage new followers and diversify your offering. Let’s help you get started.

Little Extras

📵  Montana could become the first state to fully ban TikTok. A bill is heading to the governor’s desk, but will it actually get passed?

⚠️ Remember BeReal? Yeah, we don’t either. Gen Z is over being real, which means you officially have permission to delete the app and go on with your life. 

💸  Meta is looking for ways to keep you paid and engaged by expanding access to Reels monetization. The new features are coming soon, but while you wait, turn on Professional Mode now.

🧐 Instagram is back with the updates. New and notable on Reels: a trending tab, watch-time analytics, and notifications when you gain followers from a video. Still missing: bonuses.

🔇  Don’t believe everything you hear online. TikTok confirms that you can still upload 10-minute videos, despite the 10-minute recording option being removed from the app.  

🥪 What do you get when you mix AI and a request for a weird sandwich? Ask creator Barry Enderwick (@SandwichesofHistory), whose ChatGPT recipes are creating viral moments.

😅  This new update from Instagram has Linktree sweating. The platform announced last week that users can now add up to 5 links to their bio, which has been a top request from creators.

🌐 People are looking for Twitter alternatives. On the wish-list: a decentralized network. The options so far: Bluesky, Substack Notes, T2, and Post.

Meet 10 Muses for Every Creator Educator 

Generally speaking, there are two types of creators: creator entertainers and creator educators. Aka, creators who amuse you, and creators who teach you something (and not just a new dance). The latter have been around a long time – they’re the ones teaching you guitar riffs and showing you how to knit a sweater on YouTube. However, we’ve seen even more creator educators emerge in the last few years, and that’s thanks to TikTok being an amazing platform for learning new things and hobbies. 

Are you a creator educator yourself? Looking for some inspo? We’ve got you – learn from these 10 creators who are absolutely killing it.

TL;DR 

🍋 Let’s explore Lemon8, the new Bytedance-owned platform creators are raving about. Want to make your first post? We’ve got you covered. 

⚠️ While Montana plans to completely ban TikTok, the rest of the world is officially over BeReal (this is your permission to finally delete it). They’re also over Twitter, and looking for some Musk-free alternatives. 

💸 Instagram is out here with all the new features: Reels gets a trending tab and watch-time analytics, users can add 5 links to their bio, and more creators can soon access Reels monetization.

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