Hey creator,

This week, I came across what might be the best-executed creator meet-up yet.

Colin and Samir, your favourite creator’s creator, hosted their first-ever live event in NYC, pulling in 500 creators under one roof.

The space was stunning, the guest lineup stacked, and then came the biggest fomo drawcard: surprise appearances from Casey Neistat and The Diary of a CEO host Steven Bartlett.

I would have flown over in a heartbeat… if I hadn’t been at another big milestone myself. The podcast I EP hosted its first-ever live show at Sydney’s Apple Store on George Street.

Honestly, I just love this podcast and creator community. More of this, please.

Let’s get into it 👇

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This issue will bring you up to speed on what’s happening in the creator economy:

• Quick Fire news headlines

• Worth The Read news stories

• Social Media Updates that you need to know about

• Check out my READ, LISTEN + WATCH recommendations for this week

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Quick Fire 🧨

• Meta's AI leaders discuss using Google and OpenAI models in apps

• Meta reportedly allowed unauthorised celebrity AI chatbots on its services

• Meta updates chatbot rules to avoid inappropriate topics with teen users

• MrBeast has ambitions for a phone service 

• Adobe announced Adobe Premiere for iPhone

Worth The Read

Creators are “shaking up” the future of SNL

Saturday Night Live just announced it’ll be bringing internet-familiar faces into its upcoming season, which will be the biggest cast overhaul since 2022.

Veronika Slowikowska (my favourite New Yorker weird gal), Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson, Jeremy Culhane, and Tommy Brennan have traded their creator hours for the gruelling grind of SNL.

While SNL has dabbled with internet talent before, this marks a bigger bet, which is bringing multiple creators into a legacy studio at once.

Viewership has been slipping for years, with most younger audiences catching SNL clips on TikTok or YouTube instead of tuning in live.

Lorne Michaels says he wants to “shake things up,” and perhaps creators are his best shot at reaching Gen Z.

But it raises a question that we’ve been wondering for a few years now. Can SNL stay relevant by recruiting internet talent, or will creators lose what makes them unique once they’re inside a 50-year-old format?

Socially Updated

Instagram

• adds more DM management options, including Story replies, Unread, Unanswered, Followers and Verified users

• now shows Meta Verified subscriber accounts at the top of search results.

• has added “Message Response Tracker” to the Professional Dashboard to help you track your response rate.

• now only shows message requests from the last 30 days, with an option to view older requests.

• has finally launched an iPad version of the app.

LinkedIn 

• now requires recruiter verification from users with a recruitment or executive job title.

• and CapCut launched an integration that lets creators publish videos edited in CapCut directly to LinkedIn.

The Dig

READ: YouTube have released its Culture And Trends Report on the next generation of creativity, and it’s quite interesting. Something that stuck out to me is that while teens have been the tastemakers of future trends, they consider themselves creators and will influence what you and I see and talk about online.

LISTEN: What is Vogue without Anna Wintour? The two icons are synonymous with one another, but it would be this American summer that would no longer be. Wintour’s successor, Chloe Malle, reflects a new era, and this new era is about to receive some serious curveballs that no one can predict. Wintour sounds in control in this interview with WNYC, to the point where it sounds like it was her decision to step down from the role of Editor in Chief.

WATCH: How did YouTube win the streaming wars? The platform posted its first video 20 years ago, and yet it feels like it’s just getting started. YouTube’s commitment to innovating and backing creators earlier on is a testament to their two-decade-long success. But can they meet the challenge posed by AI and stay ahead of their competitors?