Keep scrolling for an update on TikTok’s latest creator strategy.
Trisha Paytas Spent Years Trolling. Has She Finally Grown Up?
In a new piece for Rolling Stone, journalist EJ Dickson sat down with Trisha Paytas to delve into her 15-year-long career online and her history of trolling.
Whether it's her OnlyFans presence or her previous problematic comments, Trisha’s career has been controversial to say the least.
This behaviour can largely be explained by Trisha’s pursuit of fame, associating with the wrong crowd, and her untreated mental health issues. She acknowledges, however, that she "took the trolling so far."
“It’s been Paytas’ willingness to say and do virtually anything for views that has led to her being canceled more times than streamers have axed minor superhero franchise,” Dickson writes.
Trisha moved to California in 2006, hoping she would be able to build a career in Hollywood. She made appearances in various TV shows, ranging from Modern Family to Ellen, and dated several "D-list celebrities." However, it wasn't until YouTube that she found success through trolling.
“I wanted to be Howard Stern so bad… There’s times where I truly did not mean to offend, and there’s times where I was just trying to be offensive. And I kind of just regret … all of it,” she admits to Dickson.
Becoming one of the internet's most hated figures, Trisha weathered numerous cancellations, losing her credibility and the trust of her audience in the process. But things started to shift with the now-defunct Frenemies podcast (a topic she declined to address in the interview).
Through Frenemies, Trisha met her now-husband, Moses Hacmon, who she claims "saved" her. Since meeting him, she got sober and started going to therapy.
Trisha has recently been at the centre of various viral moments, from having her nudes shared by Colleen Ballinger to (apparently) giving birth to a royal reincarnate. While she had the opportunity to return to her trolling roots, she remained mature in every instance, showing her audience just how much she has worked on herself.
“I’m thankful to show the journey of being unwell to being better, because I think it is possible for people to change. And I’m happy to be that spokesperson,” Trisha finishes.
Read the full profile via Rolling Stone.
The Mr. Beastification of entertainment
Where Trisha made a name for herself from trolling, MrBeast — real name Jimmy Donaldson — has built his following through stunt-based content. In a piece for Vox, Rebecca Jennings delves into MrBeast's journey to internet stardom as he breaks into mainstream entertainment.
As the individual creator with the highest number of subscribers (244 million on YouTube), MrBeast is well-known among internet users. But for the uninitiated, MrBeast's content revolves around stunts and giveaways, posting videos like "Last to Leave Circle Wins $500,000" and "If You Can Carry $1,000,000 You Keep It!"
“Mr. Beast is a YouTube creator whose approach to video production is far less interested in what is on screen than in what will make the numbers in the bottom left corner go up,” Jennings explains.
This observation is common among internet culture critics. Ever since MrBeast’s breakthrough moment (when he posted an almost 24-hour-long video counting to 100,000), viewers have claimed that he is on a “viral path to nowhere.”
In the pursuit of subscribers, likes, and comments, MrBeast's content is not about him. According to Jennings, it is all about capturing "young people’s dwindling attention spans.” To achieve this, he continuously pushes boundaries and enhances the production value of his videos.
This cycle started when he scored his first brand deal and used the money to give a “random homeless man $10,000.” Shortly after, he began reinvesting his earnings into content, leading him to eventually launch his own philanthropy channel and snack company.
If this strategy sounds "'icky, you've probably aged out of the MrBeast demographic," notes Jennings. Older internet users have not held back in their criticisms of the creator, alleging that he displays white saviourism, poverty profiteering, and exploitation in his videos.
“By exploiting YouTube’s algorithm, Mr. Beast has created a modern-day arena for influencer-gladiators to torture each other and where average Joes can compete for a piece of the spoils,” she continues. “It’s Jackass if the Jackass dudes read self-help books and idolized Elon Musk.”
After witnessing MrBeast's success, traditional entertainment industry players aim to replicate it. The creator is making his mark in Hollywood (following several failed attempts) and is set to host an Amazon-sponsored competition show with a $5 million prize.
“What’s easier to imagine than Mr. Beast becoming, say, a late-night talk show host or TV presenter is the entertainment industry continuing its current race to the bottom of what’s profitable in the attention economy.” Jennings reflects. “By leaning harder into algorithmically generated recommendations and lowest-common-denominator programming, they’re [Hollywood executives and legacy entertainment] mirroring the Mr. Beast philosophy of creating content totally devoid of complexity.”
Read the full piece via Vox.
How The Internet Fell Out of Love With Jojo Siwa
While MrBeast is committed to his brand, no one can top JoJo Siwa and her rainbows, glitter, and bows. However, in recent weeks, JoJo has been hinting at a new era, one that doesn't cater to children. This transition coincides with growing criticism online directed toward the star— a trend that commentary creator, Kayla Says, breaks down in a recent YouTube video.
Kayla offers an overview of JoJo’s career, tracing her journey from her start on Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition and Dance Moms to building her YouTube following.
Soon, JoJo integrated into the cultural zeitgeist, establishing herself as an unattainable brand (similar to classic Disney stars), while also fostering a sense of intimacy with her followers through her vlogs.
“Not only was JoJo eventually the embodiment of an actual toy in the way that she presented herself with the rainbows, the high energy and the bows in the hair… but also she was able to grasp that parasocial aspect of vloggers that younger kids were looking for at that time,” Kayla explains.
As she grew up and remained aligned with this child-oriented brand, online criticism grew harsh — with some users labelling her a "giant toddler" and mocking her "receding hairline" from her signature side ponytail.
JoJo handled the criticism with maturity, often responding with humour and never letting it get to her. However, as she began to distance herself from this brand, the negativity persisted.
Kayla argues that this wasn't necessarily because people wanted her to continue catering to children but rather because she traded her talent for the "internet grift" and clickbait.
Pointing to JoJo's Snapchat pregnancy saga, Kayla says, "JoJo's been on the internet for a long time, and she knows how exploitative and intentional this is..."
As people grew frustrated with JoJo and felt she "squandered her platform" (despite remaining important representation for young LGBTQIA+ people), the criticism ramped up when JoJo stood up for Colleen Ballinger.
JoJo and Colleen had formed a close bond over the years (which is already concerning due to their 16-year age gap). So, when Colleen faced grooming allegations and accusations of fostering inappropriate relationships with her fans last year, JoJo came to her defence.
Things only worsened after Rolling Stone’s recent exposé of JoJo Siwa and her mother Jessalyn in their treatment of XOMG Pop! — the music group poised to inherit JoJo’s brand.
Former members of the group alleged mistreatment where Kayla goes on to say, “I'm not surprised by it because this is the environment that JoJo grew up in on Dance Moms and it's an environment that Jessalyn pretty much enabled for JoJo's entire life.”
While internet users hold some grace for JoJo, considering her upbringing and experience with child stardom, the success of her new era remains uncertain.
Watch the full video via YouTube.
Dan Schneider talks about Quiet on Set
Speaking of child stardom, this week, the docu-series Quiet on Set: the Dark Side of Kids TV finished airing the allegations against Dan Schneider during his tenure at Nickelodeon. Now confronted with accusations of abuse, manipulation, and fostering an inappropriate workplace, Schneider responded to the docu-series on the Danwarp YouTube channel.
From iCarly to Victorious and Drake & Josh, Schneider was the mastermind behind many beloved kids' and tween shows from the 2000s to the early 2010s.
The allegations against him have been circulating on social media for years, especially as older Gen Z started revisiting the shows and found inappropriate jokes and behaviour on the shows.
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserThe docu-series marks the first time that child stars, including Drake Bell of Drake & Josh fame, and others who collaborated closely with Schneider, have come forward to share their experiences on his sets.
Schneider addressed the series in a 19-minute-long conversation with BooG!e (T-Bo on iCarly).
“Watching over the past two nights was very difficult — me facing my past behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret,” Schneider begins. “I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology."
He offered multiple apologies throughout the video, directing them towards any young actors who may have felt uncomfortable on his shows. He acknowledged the on-set "massages" he requested, lashing out against actors and the inappropriate jokes (which he suggested should be edited out of reruns).
“All those jokes … the show covered over the past two nights, every one of those jokes was written for a kid audience because kids thought they were funny and only funny,” he explains. ”[But] if there’s anything that needs to be cut because it’s upsetting somebody, let’s cut it”
Schneider proceeds to discuss two child stars, namely Amanda Bynes and Drake Bell, and their relationships with him, as well as their experiences on their respective shows.
He discusses Amanda's attempt to become emancipated from her parents and Drake's experience of sexual abuse by dialogue coach, Brian Peck.
The reaction to the interview has not been favourable, with many social media users describing the video as “incredibly biased” and “bullshit.”
Stream Quiet on Set on Max and watch Schneider’s response video via YouTube.
TikTok is paying creators to up its search game
Amid discussions about a potential TikTok ban in the United States, the short-form video app continues to update its features. With the introduction of the TikTok search bar and key terms under videos, it's clear that TikTok is adapting to cater to Gen Z, who treat the app like Google.
A recent report by Adobe revealed that 2 in 5 US TikTok users treat the platform as a search engine. After surveying 808 consumers, the data found that 64% of Gen Z have used TikTok as a search engine at one point, with almost 1 in 10 preferring it over Google.
That being said, TikTok recently announced that it will be rewarding creators based on how well their content matches what users are searching for.
“TikTok calls this metric ‘search value,’ and it’s one of four core elements in determining creator payouts,” Mia Soto writes for The Verge. “TikTok announced the change as part of its new monetization program, called Creator Rewards.”
Social media users and journalists are drawing parallels between this update and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). For example, with the introduction of the new Creator Search Insights feature, creators can now find trending searches and tailor their content accordingly.
“Creators can source inspiration for their content, tailor their creative strategies to meet audience interests, and create content that people want to see more of,” a release from the TikTok newsroom reads. “Our hope is that Creator Search Insights empowers creators to make content that's relevant to searchers and positioned to perform well on TikTok.”
In addition to targeting Gen Z users, Soto suggests that this update serves as a means for creators to more effectively engage with businesses and product promotion.
“One way to read this is that it’s a case of TikTok incentivizing creators to make videos that satisfy business needs,” Soto continues. “If I search ‘best vacuum repair shop nyc’ and there aren’t relevant videos that the platform can serve up, that’s a problem for TikTok — I’d probably leave the app and search for that on Google Maps or Yelp.”
Now, it's uncertain whether TikTok represents a genuine challenge to Google in terms of the quality of search engines. But it's clear that TikTok is actively striving to demonstrate its value for businesses amid discussions of a potential ban.
Read more via The Verge.