Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
A new era of short-form video is sweeping the internet, forcing every kind of creator — from podcasters to photographers and publishers — to adjust their media strategies.
Why it matters: There have never been so many opportunities to create content online, but business incentives are driving all kinds of creative individuals and enterprises to chase the same viral trends.
Be smart: "With TikTok, Instagram Reels and some other new platforms, the addiction is to the platform," said Sasha Kaletsky, co-founder of Creator Ventures, a creator economy investment firm. "The user isn't looking for any specific creator, they are looking to be entertained," he told Axios on stage last month.
For creators, that means a broad move into quick, cheap behind-the-scenes videos.
By the numbers: A new report from mobile analytics firm data.ai finds users spend on average 3.1 billion hours globally streaming user-generated content daily on mobile-native, short-form video apps like TikTok and YouTube.
Zoom out: Almost all of the user growth amongst teens online is going towards short-form video apps. That means the best shot creators can take at building an audience is to lean into viral video trends — even if they aren't video professionals.
How we got here: The explosive rise of TikTok during the pandemic and growing concerns around user data privacy have pushed nearly every major social media company to fundamentally shift their strategy for distributing content.
Yes, but: When it began rolling out those changes on Instagram — an app built for photographers, artists and other creative professionals — users revolted.
National Geographic, the publisher with the largest following on social media, is facing that pressure. "Our incredible social reach is largely based on our strength on Instagram, which is based on our strength in photography, which is great," National Geographic's new editor-in-chief Nathan Lump told Axios last month.
Between the lines: Social media platforms have a lot to gain long-term from leaning into short-form video. But for now, the user adoption of short-form video has outpaced business opportunities for creators.
What's next: There are still more people than ever who are making new content, and some observers believe the advent of generative AI tools like Dall-E, Stable Diffusion and ChatGPT will make it even easier for newcomers.
What they're saying: "There's been a paradigm shift from mass produced content to the one-on-one, sort of hyper-personalized content, which is becoming easier and easier with these AI tools," said Anushk Mittal, co-founder of generative AI avatar startup Circle Labs.