Promote · Phase 5 of 5
Other Platforms & Creator Culture
The rest of the creator world. TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, podcasts and newsletters, plus the shared language creators use about the job itself.
Category 16 of 16 in the creator glossary · 124 terms
A
Abridged seriesaka abridged, abridging, fan abridged seriesA fan re-edit of an existing show, usually anime, cut down and re-dubbed with new comic dialogue over the original footage.Add Yours stickeraka Add YoursA Shorts sticker carrying a prompt, which viewers answer with their own Short, chaining every response back to the video that started it.AI influenceraka virtual influencer, AI personaA wholly synthetic persona run as a creator account, with a generated face, voice and posting history behind a brand or an operator.AI slopaka slopMass-produced, low-effort AI content flooding feeds and search results. An insult first, and now also a target for platform moderation.Algorithm anxietyaka algo anxietyThe stress of depending on a distribution system you cannot see or predict, and the posting behaviour that stress drives.Algospeakaka unaliveCoded or misspelled wording used to slip past what creators believe automated moderation and demonetisation filters are looking for.Anime music videoaka AMVA fan edit cutting anime footage to a chosen song. One of YouTube's oldest formats and a standing copyright problem.Apology videoaka Notes app apologyThe genre of on-camera creator apology after a controversy, with its own recognisable staging, wardrobe and vocabulary.Apple PodcastsApple's podcast app and directory. Still the default catalogue you submit a feed to, even as listening spreads to Spotify and YouTube.ASMR videoaka ASMRContent built around trigger sounds, made for the tingling, relaxed response some viewers get from them.Astroturfingaka fake grassrootsManufacturing fake grassroots support: paid or coordinated accounts posing as ordinary fans praising a product, a creator or a campaign.Attention economyThe framing of human attention as the scarce resource platforms compete for, with everything else in the system arranged around capturing it.
B
Beauty guruaka beauty influencer, beauty YouTuber, beauty creatorThe long-standing label for a creator whose channel runs on makeup, skincare and hair: tutorials, hauls and product reviews.BlueskyA decentralised text-based social platform built on the AT Protocol, used by many creators as an alternative to X.Brain rotaka brainrotLow-quality, hyper-stimulating content, and the mental state of consuming too much of it. Oxford's word of the year for 2024.Burnoutaka creator burnoutThe exhaustion, cynicism and drop in effectiveness that follow sustained work pressure, classified by the WHO as an occupational phenomenon.
C
Cancel cultureaka getting cancelledThe pattern of public support being withdrawn at speed and at scale after something a creator said or did comes to light.Carousel postaka carousel, swipe postA swipeable post of several images or slides, native on Instagram and produced on LinkedIn by uploading a PDF.Chronically onlineaka terminally onlineA label for opinions or behaviour that only make sense deep inside internet subculture and land badly anywhere else.Clout chasingaka clout, clout chaserAttaching yourself to whoever has attention right now, instead of doing the work that would earn attention of your own.Collabaka collaboration, creator collabTwo or more creators making something together, each hoping to reach the other's audience alongside their own.Collab postaka Instagram collab, collaborator postA single post published to two or more accounts' feeds at once, with the views and engagement shared between them.Commentary channelaka commentary YouTuberA channel built on reacting to and analysing other people's videos, drama or events, with the creator's take as the product.Comparison trapMeasuring your channel against bigger creators' public numbers and stalling, because you are weighing your process against their finished output.Comparison videoaka versus video, vs videoA format that puts two or more options head to head and reaches a verdict, packaged around the versus in the title.Content creatoraka creator, YouTuberThe catch-all term for anyone who makes and publishes media for an audience online, usually as the business itself.Content houseaka collab house, creator houseA house shared by several creators so they can film together constantly, cutting the cost per video and cross-feeding each other's audiences.Content repurposingaka repurposing, repurposed contentRebuilding one piece of work into other formats and platforms, made native to each place instead of posted flat everywhere.Copypastaaka pastaA block of text copied and pasted repeatedly through chats and comment sections, usually as a joke or as a pile-on.Creative blockaka writer's block, creative rutThe stretch where nothing you think of seems worth making, and the ideas that do arrive get killed before they reach a page.Creator beefaka beef, feudA public, running conflict between creators, played out in videos and posts, which reliably pulls far more attention than their normal work.Creator economyThe whole market around independent creators: the platforms, the tools, the brand money and the audiences paying directly.Creator Insideraka Creator Insider channelYouTube's own channel where staff announce features, explain changes and run experiments past creators before the help pages catch up.Creator middle classaka middle-class creatorCreators making a real living from an audience far short of stardom, usually by stacking several small income lines rather than one big one.Cross-postingaka crosspostingPublishing one video on more than one platform, most often a vertical cut sent to Shorts, Reels and TikTok together.
D
Day in the lifeaka DITLA format that follows one full day, waking to bed, common in vlogging and short-form and thoroughly formulaic by now.Deinfluencingaka de-influencingTelling an audience what to skip, framed as a corrective to constant recommendation, which broke out as a trend on TikTok in 2023.Documentary-style videoaka mini-documentary, video documentaryA long-form video built like a documentary: original research or reporting, interviews or archive, and a narrative rather than a lecture.Doomscrollingaka doom scrollingCarrying on scrolling a feed long after it stopped being enjoyable. The viewer behaviour vertical formats are built around.Doxxingaka doxingPublishing somebody's private identifying details, such as a home address or workplace, to expose them to harassment.Drama channelaka tea channelA channel whose format is covering conflicts, callouts and scandals among other creators, sometimes as reporting, often as entertainment.Draw My LifeA YouTube format where the creator narrates their life story over sped-up whiteboard drawings. Popular from around 2013 and still searched.
E
EdutainmentThe label most large explainer channels use for themselves: teaching delivered with the pacing, stakes and structure of entertainment.Email listaka mailing list, subscriber listThe addresses a creator can contact directly, with no platform deciding who sees the message.Email sequenceaka welcome sequence, drip campaign, automationA set of emails sent automatically in order after someone subscribes, doing the introduction work you would otherwise repeat by hand.Engagement farmingaka engagement baitPrompts and tricks written purely to harvest comments, likes or shares, with no real interest in the conversation they set off.Engagement podaka comment pod, like podA group that agrees to like, comment on and share each other's posts on cue, to make a post look popular to the algorithm.EnshittificationCory Doctorow's term for how platforms decay: good to users, then good to business customers, then good only to themselves.Esportsaka competitive gamingOrganised competitive gaming: leagues, tournaments and professional teams, with an audience that follows matches the way sport fans do.Explore pageaka Instagram ExploreInstagram's discovery grid of recommended posts and Reels from accounts a user does not already follow.
F
Face revealaka face reveal videoA creator showing their face for the first time after building an audience without it. A real milestone format for faceless and VTuber channels.Facebookaka FB, Facebook ReelsMeta's original social network. Still enormous, and still a real distribution surface for creators through Reels, Pages and Groups.Fan editaka edit, editsA short montage of clips cut to music by a fan of a show, film or person. An entire culture on Shorts, Reels and TikTok.Flopaka flopped video, underperformerA video landing well below what the channel normally does, measured against its own recent baseline rather than anyone else's numbers.Full-time creatoraka full-time YouTuberSomebody whose creator income has replaced other work, though that income is nearly always a mix rather than ad revenue alone.
G
H
I
Imposter syndromeaka impostor syndromeThe persistent sense that your results are undeserved and somebody is about to work out you do not know what you are doing.InfluencerA creator whose commercial value to brands rests on persuading an audience, rather than on the volume of content produced.Instagramaka IGMeta's photo and video app, the usual second home for video creators and the first place a brand checks.Instagram gridaka the grid, grid post, IG grid, grid aestheticThe permanent tiled feed on an Instagram profile, and the posts made for it rather than for Stories or Reels.Instagram Storyaka Stories, IG StoryA short vertical post that disappears after 24 hours, used for behind-the-scenes clips, polls and telling followers a video is live.
K
L
Lead magnetaka freebie, opt-inSomething useful given away free in exchange for an email address. The trade that turns an anonymous viewer into a contact you own.Let's Playaka playthroughA commentated playthrough of a game, where the appeal comes from the person's running reaction to what happens.Link in bioaka bio link, LinktreeThe single clickable link a profile allows, usually pointing at a hub page listing everywhere else you want people to go.LinkedInMicrosoft's professional network, now used by creators as a distribution surface for business audiences instead of only as a place to park a CV.Lyric videoaka lyrics video, lyric visualiser, lyric visualizerA music upload whose visuals are the song's words on screen, cheap to make and often posted before the official video.
M
Made on YouTubeaka Made on YouTube eventYouTube's annual announcement event, where new creator features are unveiled and most of Studio's new vocabulary first appears.MemeA joke, image or format that spreads by being copied and altered, with each version still recognisable as the same thing.MukbangAn eating broadcast: the host eats, usually a lot, while talking to viewers. The format came out of Korean live streaming.
N
NebulaA subscription video platform part-owned by the mostly educational creators who make its content, run by the studio Standard.Newsletteraka email newsletterA recurring email to a list you own, and the one audience relationship no platform can switch off for you.Newsletter recommendationsaka recommendations network, cross-recommendationsA growth mechanic where newsletters recommend each other at signup, so a new subscriber can join several publications at once.
O
P
Personal brandThe reputation and recognisable identity a person carries across platforms, made of what they are known for and how they behave.Pinterestaka pinsA visual search and bookmarking site that sends genuine outbound traffic, strongest for tutorial, food, craft and home niches.Platform diversificationaka multi-platform strategyDeliberately building audience on more than one surface, so that a single platform's decision cannot remove your reach in one go.Platform riskaka platform dependency, building on rented landThe exposure you carry from depending on one platform's rules, ranking systems and payouts, none of which you control.PNGtuberaka PNG tuberA streamer represented on screen by a static image that swaps between a few states, instead of a rigged animated model.PodcastAn episodic show distributed by RSS feed to podcast apps, now usually filmed as well and posted as video.Podcast cover artaka podcast artwork, show art, podcast coverThe square image representing a show in every podcast directory, held to a hard spec of 1400 to 3000 pixels square.Podcast downloadsaka downloadsThe headline audience number in podcasting, counted per episode as requests for the audio file that meet the IAB measurement rules.Podcast hostingaka media hostThe service that stores your episode audio and publishes the RSS feed every podcast app reads to find and download it.Podcast networkaka podcast collective, show networkA group of shows sold and promoted together, usually trading a share of advertising revenue for sales representation.
Q
R
Ratioedaka ratio, getting ratioedWhen replies to a post massively outnumber its likes or reposts, read as a sign the audience has turned on whoever wrote it.Reaction videoaka reaction content, react videoA format built on watching and responding to someone else's work. Legally and policy-wise it lives or dies on how much you add.ReceiptsScreenshots, clips and messages produced as evidence in a public dispute. Bring them, or the accusation does not survive contact.RedditA network of topic communities that can send a channel real traffic and will bury you for self-promoting badly.Response videoaka callout video, clapbackA video made to answer, rebut or attack another creator's video or claim. Fast to produce and reliably divisive.RSS feedaka podcast feedThe XML file that carries a podcast to every listening app. Whoever controls the feed controls the show's distribution.RumbleA Toronto-founded video platform launched in 2013 and now positioned as a looser-moderation alternative to YouTube.
S
Show notesaka episode notesThe written material published with a podcast episode: a summary, who is on it, section timestamps and every link mentioned.Snapchataka Snap, Snap Star, Snapchat StarsA messaging-first social app with a real creator layer: public Stories, the Spotlight vertical feed and Snap Star status.Speedrunaka speedrunning, any% runCompleting a game as fast as possible under an agreed set of rules, timed and ranked against everyone else.Spotify for Creatorsaka Anchor, Spotify for PodcastersSpotify's free podcast hosting and analytics tool, previously Anchor and then Spotify for Podcasters, and the route to video podcasts on Spotify.Storytimeaka story time videoA talking-head format built on one personal anecdote, told straight to camera with the payoff held back until the end.Streameraka live streamerA creator whose main output is live broadcast, where the show happens in real time and the audience sits in the chat.Study with meaka work with me, StudyTubeA long real-time video or stream of somebody studying or working, watched for company and structure rather than content.SubstackA publishing platform for newsletters and paid subscriptions, with a recommendation network that moves readers between publications.Swattingaka swatA hoax emergency call made to send armed police to someone's home, often aimed at a streamer while they are live.
T
TeamYouTubeaka Team YouTube, YouTube supportYouTube's public-facing support presence, run on social and in the help forums, and the first place creators take account and policy problems.Threadsaka Meta ThreadsMeta's text-first app, tied to an Instagram account, with posts of up to 500 characters and an audience that overlaps Instagram's.Tier list videoaka tier list, ranking videoA format where the creator sorts things into ranked tiers on screen and argues each placement as they go.TikTokThe short-form vertical video app that reset audience expectations for pacing, and the main non-YouTube surface most creators also post to.Tutorial videoaka how-to video, walkthroughA video teaching the viewer to do one specific thing, following the task through from setup to a finished result.TwitchAmazon's live streaming platform and the reference point for streamer culture, from chat conventions to subscription mechanics.Twitch AffiliateTwitch's entry monetisation tier, unlocking subscriptions, Bits and channel points once a channel clears the qualifying thresholds.
U
V
Verified badgeaka blue tick, checkmark, verificationThe tick beside a channel or account name, confirming the platform has checked it belongs to who it claims to be.VidConThe creator industry's main conference, founded in 2010 by Hank and John Green and split into community, creator and industry tracks.Video essayaka essay videoA long-form argued piece with narration, research and illustrated editing, closer to an essay read aloud than to a documentary.Video podcastaka YouTube podcastA podcast filmed as well as recorded, with the video edition on YouTube and often the main way new listeners find the show.Viralaka going viral, viralityReach far beyond a channel's usual range, driven by sharing and recommendation. The word describes an outcome and makes a poor plan.Vlogaka video blog, vloggingA video diary format where the creator narrates their own day, trip or project to camera while it is happening.Vlogmasaka daily December vlogsA vlog every day through December up to Christmas. The best-known seasonal upload commitment, and the one that burns the most people out.VTuberaka virtual YouTuberA creator who performs through an animated avatar instead of appearing on camera themselves.
X
Xaka TwitterThe text-first social network formerly called Twitter, used by creators for commentary, industry news and reaching people outside their subscriber base.X Spacesaka Spaces, Twitter Spaces, live audio roomLive audio rooms on X, where a host and invited speakers talk to a listening audience and the recording stays available afterwards.