James Hale

People are all about recommending things on social media. Scroll any platform and you'll see people talking about things they like, from local restaurants Spotify announced Nov. 7 that its partnership with TikTok will smooth the path for users to share Spotify content in two ways: (1) by allowing them to make videos sharing tracks, albums, playlists, podcasts, or audiobooks using TikTok's video editing tools, and (2) by letting them DM one another direct links to music, podcasts, and audiobooks.

Google Search traffic is the single biggest source of revenue for YouTube parent Alphabet--and, for the first time in over a decade, it looks like Alphabet made $49.4 billion in revenue from Google Search this past quarter alone, so obviously keeping traffic high is a priority. And one way it's attempting to do that is with a new YouTube feature: hyperlinked comments.

After making an appearance last week on Theo Von's podcast, JD Vance is back for a three-hour interview with Joe Rogan. Since these videos were both released in the leadup to the election, we now know the outcome--including how Rogan, Von, and Adin Ross were shotued out by UFC CEO Dana White during Donald Trump's victory speech. Surreal. As for the rest of the lineup, we depart from politics into baseball, science, a splash of art, and one of the internet's favorite video games.

Joe Rogan got a lot of face time on our Gospel Stats Weekly Brand Reports in the leadup to the 2024 election--and now that the election is over, he's getting even more. This week, he's not just spot #1, but got in at #6 and #7, too. Aside from the Roganpalooza, we have Kurzgesagt and NileBlue both chiming in for some Ms. Frizzle moments, plus a stretchy Short and a deep dive into dinner from that one very pale, deaging-obsessed biohacker who uses his son like a Mad Max: Fury Road blood bag.

The "influencer election" just closed out, with Donald Trump giving nods to streamers and podcasters like Adin Ross and Joe Rogan in his victory The "influencer election" just closed out, with Donald Trump giving nods to streamers and podcasters like Adin Ross and Joe Rogan in his victory celebration, and some of Election Day's biggest news presenters being content creators like Hasan Piker and V Spehar. Ross, Rogan, Piker, Spehar, and thousands of other creators who broadcast content around the election come from all across the political spectrum, but they have one thing in common: viewers are increasingly using their videos and livestreams as primary sources of news.

By James Hale • • Netflix lately seems keener than ever to compete with YouTube —and it just snapped up a deal with one of the platform's biggest content groups.

By James Hale • • These days, the idea of filming a video on your phone and posting it to YouTube is banal. Forgettable.

These days, the idea of filming a video on your phone and posting it to YouTube is banal. Forgettable. But back in 2009, it was a Star Trek-level push These days, the idea of filming a video on your phone and posting it to YouTube is banal. Forgettable. But back in 2009, it was a Star Trek-level push into the future. That year, Apple introduced "Send to YouTube," a feature that would let iPhone and iPod Touch users post videos on YouTube with a single tap.

By James Hale • • Quibi was perhaps the biggest streaming service failure of all time.

When over 5,000 content creators gather in Dubai this January for the third annual 1 Billion Followers Summit, they'll see one creator receive a When over 5,000 content creators gather in Dubai this January for the third annual 1 Billion Followers Summit, they'll see one creator receive a million-dollar award for making content that makes a difference.