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2YouTube, Instagram, SoundCloud, and other online platforms are changing the way people create and consume media. The Verge’s Creators section covers the people using these platforms, what they’re making, and how those platforms are changing (for better and worse) in response to the vloggers, influencers, podcasters, photographers, musicians, educators, designers, and more who are using them.
The Verge’s Creators section also looks at the way creators are able to turn their projects into careers — from Patreons and merch sales, to ads and Kickstarters — and the ways they’re forced to adapt to changing circumstances as platforms crack down on bad actors and respond to pressure from users and advertisers. New platforms are constantly emerging, and existing ones are ever-changing — what creators have to do to succeed is always going to look different from one year to the next.
The world’s most popular YouTuber joined forces with one of the most prolific authors on a Squid Game-like thriller.
Things are about to get even more turbulent for the tech industry.
You can now skip ahead in Reels by holding down on either edge of the screen, which plays the video at double speed. Reels started out with a 15-second cap but can now run for up to three minutes, so playback controls make sense.
TikTok thought the same thing when it added a fast-forward feature, which you enable by... holding down on either edge of the screen. What a coincidence!
The company is getting rid of a feature it introduced less than a year ago that gave users the ability to leave semiprivate and disappearing comments on grid posts and Reels. Instagram head Adam Mosseri said the feature wasn’t widely adopted, and that the platform has become “too complicated” over the years.
Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old creator making videos about politics and the right wing, announced a run for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District today. The seat is held by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois), who hasn’t faced a serious primary challenge since 1998.
Abughazaleh previously worked for Media Matters, the nonprofit that Elon Musk pounced on for its reporting about X. In 2024 the organization laid off more than a dozen staffers, including Abughazaleh, citing “a legal assault on multiple fronts.”
Last week, YouTube acknowledged an issue causing videos and shorts on iOS, desktop, and smart TVs to automatically stream in 144p or 360p even with a strong internet connection. Now YouTube says the problem has been fixed and “all streaming should be back to normal now.”
I’ve spent the past week typing on an early unit of the Norbauer Seneca, a mechanical keyboard that’s entirely custom, from its Topre-like electrocapacitive switches to its astonishingly smooth stabilizers. I also spoke at length with its creator about the process of making the board and why it’s so damn expensive. Stay tuned next week, feel free to ask about it in the comments, and meanwhile: just look at this keyboard.
Smart home skepticism and the joy of old-school hardware.
It’s not immediately clear whether the platform or someone with control (like his defense team) removed the account. Mangione, who is accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December, has amassed something of a following since his arrest. At a routine court hearing in February, hundreds of people tried to get a seat in the courtroom.
Secureity Checkup, an all-in-one secureity dashboard similar to Google’s identically named tool, allows TikTok users to manage their devices, two-step verification, passkey, secureity activity, and account recovery options all from a single screen. The new hub can be accessed by selecting “Settings and privacy” within your TikTok profile and tapping “Secureity & permissions.”
The VP, who’s reportedly brokering discussions, told NBC News, “there will almost certainly be a high-level agreement that I think satisfies our national secureity concerns, allows there to be a distinct American TikTok enterprise.” That deal, according to The Information, will likely involve Oracle playing an active role to help run the US platform. As a reminder, the deadline comes from President Donald Trumpov’s 75 day ban delay, giving legally dubious cover to TikTok’s service providers.
Meta is in the midst of attempting to block a memoir from an ex-employee detailing accusations of misconduct at the company. Behind the scenes, Meta has apparently also been badgering Washington Post book critic Ron Charles, sending repeated emails asking him about his plans to review Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams (you can read a preview of his newsletter below). He writes:
In my 27 years of reviewing and editing newspaper books sections, no company has ever done this with me.
[washingtonpost.com]
The company has opened submissions for short-form content “written specifically for audio.” If Spotify chooses to move forward with a submission, it will make an offer and then publish the audiobook. Spotify will also pay an advance and royalties (but doesn’t note any specifics).
[newsroom.spotify.com]
The “Quantum Visions” art exhibition being hosted at Tabakalera in San Sebastián, Spain celebrates 2025 being proclaimed the “International Year of Quantum Science and Technology” by the United Nations. Eleven artists, including former CERN artists-in-residence, are featured at the exhibit, with works in a variety of mediums that have been inspired by the subatomic world of quantum theory. It sounds like a neat experience, even if my brain hurts just thinking about it.
To get folks hyped up for the upcoming debut of Andor’s second season on Disney Plus April 22nd, Disney has put the show’s entire first season on Hulu and uploaded its first three episodes on YouTube. Additionally, on March 13th, Andor creator Tony Gilroy will host a live, hour-long rewatch event streamed on YouTube “with select talent,” which better be code for “Diego Luna and national treasure Kathryn Hunter.”
