Issue 15
January 8th, 2025
Welcome back! I hope you took some time away over the holidays – you earned it. As a founder and creator, I feel like I'm operating 24/7. There's never enough time in the day. Sound familiar?
One of my big 2026 goals is prioritizing what truly matters. That obviously includes building Trovio and doubling down on my creator journey, but it also means knowing when to step back and spend time with friends and family. I probably should have taken more time off over the holidays, but I shut everything down at 4pm on New Year's Eve and didn't come back until Friday morning (January 2nd)… it felt great.
Now we're back to our regular format: the biggest news of the week, a quick "did you know" stat that'll make you go "whoa," and the essential reads from the past 7 days. It looks like 2026 is off to a strong start, so let's dive in.
Oh, and Happy New Year! 🎉
Biggest News This Week
The "Great TikTok Ban" of 2025 has officially ended, not with a shutdown, but with a massive corporate restructuring that hands the keys to American tech giants. As of January 2026, the app remains operational under a new entity, TikTok USDS, a "data fortress" controlled largely by Oracle and Walmart to satisfy national security concerns. This deal, brokered with the blessing of the Trump administration and Larry Ellison, physically locks all US user data on American soil, effectively shielding the platform from further geopolitical crossfire.
However, the price of survival is the "Shopification" of your feed. With Walmart and Oracle now steering the ship, the platform is expected to aggressively pivot from pure entertainment to social commerce to recoup the massive costs of the deal.
What this means for us: If you're creating on TikTok in 2026, understanding how to weave commerce into your content without losing authenticity will be critical. The creators who figure this out early will win big.
Did You Know?
LinkedIn is growing 1.6x faster in video content than any other format on the platform. They've introduced a TikTok-style vertical video feed, which is currently way less saturated than other platforms. For creators, repurposing short-form vertical video to LinkedIn might be the highest ROI move of 2026. The audience is starved for "edutainment" and has serious purchasing power. A video on LinkedIn doesn't need to go viral to be successful—it just needs to reach the right 50 decision-makers.
Essential Reads
The "Clipper" niche has exploded into a legitimate industry. This involves third-party creators (or "Clippers") taking long-form content from major podcasters or streamers and editing it into viral Shorts/TikToks. Attention spans remain fragmented. A 3-hour podcast contains dozens of viral moments, but the original creator often lacks the time to extract them all. The demand for "greatest moments" over long-form content is the primary driver, with success relying on being "first" and mastering hooks.
It’s obvious that authentic connection is the new currency for brands working with creators in 2026 and beyond. I love how this article brings together all the things we’ve been discussing over the past few weeks – in person events, private communities, and creators who have an authentic connection with their followers. I love the phrasing around brands needing to work with creators in 2026 on strategies that aren’t just about watching content, but figuring out ways to be part of the culture conversation creators are having with their audience. Written for brains, but incredibly valuable for creators like us to read and understand.
This breakdown of what to be on the lookout for in 2026 as a creator on Instagram has some practical tips. One I found most interest was that Instagram's algorithm has completed its pivot away from vanity metrics. In 2026, the primary signals for reach are Saves, Shares (to DMs), and Watch Time.
"Likes" are passive; they require no commitment. A "Save" indicates utility – the user wants to return to the content. A "Share" indicates advocacy – the user is distributing the content for you. This shift forces creators to produce "Reference Content" (educational carousels, tutorials, or checklists) that users feel compelled to keep. The "SEO" of Instagram: Instagram is now functionally a search engine for Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Captions, alt text, and on-screen text are indexed. Creators must treat their profiles like websites, optimizing for keywords rather than just "vibes". Actionable Tactic: Stop asking for likes. Create content that serves as a resource. Use calls to action like "Send this to a friend who needs to hear this" to trigger the DM algorithm.
If you’re following along in the world of these ginormous creator and influencer marketing agencies, some big news this week. Digital Voices has been acquired by PMG. A quote from the CEO of Digital Voices – “The future of Influencer Marketing is about integrating creators into entire media plans” – hits directly on the very thing we continue to discuss in this newsletter around the power of storytelling.
That's all for this week. If you found this valuable, forward it to a creator friend who needs to stay in the loop. And if someone forwarded this to you, sign up to get your own issue every Thursday.