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- #31: AI Chatbots Money Easier than NFTs
#31: AI Chatbots Money Easier than NFTs
Instagram Still Bullish on Collectibles (for Subset of Creators)
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Meta Is Paying Creators Millions for AI Chatbots (The Information)
Meta has unveiled AI characters (chatbots) based on the likeness of some of the most famous celebrities and creators, including Snoop Dogg, Tom Brady, MrBeast and Charli D’Amelio. According to sources, the top earners can make up to $5M in exchange for “about six hours of work in a studio” and non-exclusive rights to image (meaning the creator can license its image to other AI products). This move demonstrates that AI and the metaverse remain a priority for the company. However, the realism of early demos and use cases worry or even terrify the mainstream public.
Rooster Teeth, Warner Bros. Discovery’s fandom, gaming and comedy entertainment brand, has pulled some content off YouTube, claiming the video platform’s ad-supported economics don’t make sense. Instead, the creators encouraged viewers to watch the content for free on the Rooster Teeth website going forward. Apparently, “ad-supported content viewed on the Rooster Teeth website generates 5-10 times more revenue per ad compared with YouTube.”
During Instagram’s first-ever Creator Innovation Summit in New York, Instagram Head Adam Mosseri shared that 1) IG did not go all-in into NFTs on the hypothesis it would be a revenue driver only to a subset of creators, and 2) NFT team shutdown was driven by company-wide reductions and product uncertainty, but still believes “that’s the kind of thing [IG] should be playing in.”
Just 18 months ago, deep in COVID lockdowns, we all witnessed the love affair between NFTs and sports. While startups and clubs were convincing fans about the value of “utility” and “fan engagement”, others were calling out the hype and financial speculation designed to enrich the club owners or fill a budget gap. Now, unsurprisingly, almost any crypto project promoted by a soccer club (or player) has crashed in value.
Zuckerberg on Using the Metaverse to Bring Back the Dead Virtually (Business Insider)
Mark Zuckerberg recently demonstrated his humanlike VR avatars in an interview in the Metaverse. Not gonna lie - the technological leap from 2022 is impressive. When asked whether the avatars could help reconnect with people “no longer here”, he acknowledged it was a complex idea but said there was "probably some balance" for the concept of creating a virtual version of a deceased person by using VR and AI technology.
Should We Still Post to the Internet for Free? (Substack / Hot Takes)
There is no doubt that large platforms benefit from user-generated content and do not adequately share revenue. On top of that, platforms continue experimenting with throttling external links and charging users for an ad-free experience. The author invites us to reevaluate where we spend time online and how much content we give away for free: “When users contribute valuable content, they are essentially providing these companies with free gasoline for their machine.”

MrBeast earned $82M in 2022, more than double any other creator.
FaZe Clan content platform risks being delisted from the stock market.
Nike’s Virtual Studio is dropping its first physical sneaker for members.
Adidas and Moncler collaborate for a generative AI campaign with NFTs.
Reddit will launch a program that will pay top contributors and mods.
PayPal filed a patent for an NFT purchase system and marketplace.
Napster is envisioning a crypto-based idea for the next phase of music.
MoMA acquired its first tokenized artwork for its permanent collection.
Musée d’Orsay partnered with a blockchain to reach new audiences.
Gucci's web3 playbook.

Facebook and Instagram are launching AI-powered creator tools.
Patreon has redesigned its platform for deep fandom engagement.
Canva now supports creating online “courses.”
Teachable is expanding into creator subscriptions.
Google Podcasts will shut down and migrate listeners to YouTube Music.
Thinkific launched an AI tool to generate mini-courses and tutorials.
Zora enabled creating NFTs for free with “first minter” payment option.
Nifty Gateway set $750 minimum sales threshold for its NFT creator tool.
OpenSea introduced private sales mode with with no platform fees.
Sound enables both limited and unlimited tiers of NFTs in a single drop.
IYK launched a self-serve platform for creating NFC-chipped products.
Digital creator launched a members-only platform for her content.



US marketers increase email marketing budgets as they seek ways to increase engagement
(…) Email marketing is favored by marketers because of its high return on investment—$36 dollars for every dollar spent, according to Litmus.

Coinbase handing out cold brew on Cap Hill
— Eli Tan (@elitanjourno)
2:52 PM • Sep 27, 2023
On X/Musk saga:
Boy math is paying $44 billion for a $25 billion company and, through business smarts and entrepreneurial know how, turning it into an $8.8 billion company
— Casey Johnston (@caseyjohnston)
2:30 AM • Sep 27, 2023
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Author Bio
Kuba Szewczyk is a Director of Strategy & Ops at Consensys, helping build NFT tools for creators and brands. He previously worked at Bain & Co. Digital Assets and earned Harvard MBA.
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