YouTube, 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 tablet maker is taking on Wacom’s Cintiq Pro line with a 120Hz refresh rate and high color accuracy.
Rick Ellis, an independent journalist reporting on the entertainment industry, said he was approached about a deal with a major prediction market exchange.
Experimental musician and YouTuber Hainbach posted a clip on social media using a humble kalimba to create epic sounds that would make Hans Zimmer jealous. Now he’s explained how to recreate the Earth-shaking drones, but fair warning, it calls for some pretty obscure and expensive gear.
If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.
BBC News has counted eight different initiatives trying to establish a label that distinguishes human-made products and services from those using AI. Experts say a single standard must be chosen to avoid confusing consumers, but getting everyone to agree on what counts as “human-made” is hard because AI is already integrated into so many tools.
On Monday, MotionVFX announced on its website that it’s “joining the Apple team.” MotionVFX is the developer behind a suite of tools for Apple-owned Final Cut Pro, including several AI features like AI upscaling and captions. The suite is currently still available as a monthly subscription catered toward creators, similar to Apple’s Creator Studio subscription.
[MotionVFX]
The decision reverses a 2024 order for TikTok to shut down its operations in the country, and comes after an agreement that TikTok will implement “enhanced protection” for Canadians’ personal information.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service, which previously warned against using TikTok, said Canadians should “proceed cautiously” when joining new platforms and “conduct their own research on the type of data being collected,” CTV News reports.
“Newgrounds used to get 3,000 flash animations a year, most are forgotten,” Newgrounds Roulette creator Mike Wing said on X. “So I made a site that shuffles through them.”
It’s a fun and nostalgic way to waste a few minutes, but just remember — these randomized animations came from Newgrounds in the 2000s and may not be safe for work.
Narayen told investors today that AI-first products “should be our next billion-dollar business,” and that he will leave the role he’s held since 2007 once the board names a successor. He’s overseen its Creative Cloud rollout, big bets on the future of AI, and its abandoned $20 billion attempt to acquire Figma.
Narayen:
The next era of creativity is being written right now — shaped by AI, by new workflows and by entirely new forms of expression. Adobe has never waited for the future to arrive. We’ve anticipated it. We’ve built it. And we’ve led it.
Amy Kurzweil, the illustrator behind The Verge’s ‘Notes from a Burmese Prison,’ talks about how her ambitious collaboration with Danny Fenster came together.
The outlet will provide Kalshi with elections-related data — namely, vote counts and race calls — that will be available on the predictions market platform. The AP licenses its elections data to many sources (including other news outlets). What’s notable is that Kalshi and other predictions markets are increasingly blurring the line between actual news and a thing a guy online decided to put money on.
I suspect a bunch of Kalshi users are about to learn about the percentage of votes counted the hard way.
The old sport is going all-in on chasing virality.
A year ago James Bruton demonstrated a custom self-balancing bike that rolled around on a pair of big red inflatable balls. For 2026 he’s both simplified the bike by reducing it to just a single ball, while also further complicating the build by creating his own custom omni-wheels for more precision and control.
Instead of a suspension completely stopping you from accessing any part of Twitch, which has historically been the case, users will now only lose access to specific features for minor infractions. To start, there will be streaming suspensions and chatting suspensions.
It’s harder to clean up a mess you’re still actively making.
The former Complexly owner lets loose on YouTube, AI, and why he turned his educational company into a nonprofit.
The roughly $1.2 billion deal, expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, gives eBay a social, creator-driven secondhand fashion marketplace popular with Gen Z and younger millennials. The platform feels more like scrolling Instagram outfits than browsing listings, which could help modernize eBay’s image.
A partial YouTube outage knocked out access to Google’s video service on Tuesday night.
The outage appears to have started just before 8PM ET, but at least on the homepage, it appears to be resolved now. A note on YouTube’s support page says it went down due to problems with the recommendations system. “The issue with our recommendations system has been resolved and all of our platforms (YouTube.com, the YouTube app, YouTube Music, Kids, and TV) are back to normal!
Update: The service is back online.
This project from Florida-based artist Gwak needs to make that horrid beep/buzzing noise when the phone rings for authenticity, but the yellowing and half-peeled sticker is -chef’s kiss-.
A new Sensor Tower report suggests the USDS takeover managed to retain most of its users despite a bumpy start and concerns with the new owners:
The average number of TikTok’s daily active users in the US remains around 95% of its usership compared to the week of Jan. 19-25.
Kamala Harris’ campaign account, @KamalaHQ, has rebranded as a digital rapid response operation.
