Snap is making changes to its program that allows creators to earn money from shortform videos. The company announced a new monetization program that will allow the app’s influencers to make money from Spotlight videos, which are one minute or longer, earning a share of their content’s ad revenue.
The change will streamline Snap’s monetization features across Spotlight, its in-app TikTok competitor, and Stories, where Snap first introduced its revenue sharing feature. It also means the company will end its Spotlight Rewards program, a Creator Fund-like arrangement that pays creators directly. The program will be discontinued on January 30, 2025, while the new monetization arrangement will take effect on February 1.
Snap announced the update as TikTok moves closer to a full ban in the United States. The ByteDance-owned service currently faces a deadline to sell off or be banned by January 19, 2025 if the Supreme Court doesn’t intervene. In its announcement, Snap noted that Spotlight viewership “has grown 25% year-over-year” and that “there is a unique and growing opportunity for creators to monetize this format the same way they do with Stories.”
Some of these metrics are slightly higher than Snap’s previous requirements for Stories, which set a limit of just 10 Story posts a month. But, as TechCrunch pointed out, the new threshold is much higher for Spotlight creators, who previously could earn money from the company’s Creator Fund with just 1,000 followers and 10,000 unique views. The change also pushes creators to create longer content for Spotlight since they can no longer be paid for videos that are shorter than a minute.
If TikTok gets banned, Snap will be one of many platforms trying to attract creators to its product. And while the app is primarily known for its private messaging features, the company says the number of people posting publicly has “more than tripled” in the past year, and that it will “evolve and expand the total rewards available to creators” going forward.
The latest MacBook Air ticks a lot of boxes: not only is it our top pick for the best laptop available now, but we also consider it the best laptop for college students and the best MacBook for most people. Apple didn’t change much with the latest iteration, but that’s to be expected since the previous entry was the most significant redesign in nearly a decade.
The new 13-inch MacBook Air has a faster M3 chip, as well as the ability to drive dual external monitors (but only when the lid is closed) and support for Wi-Fi 6E. There’s also a fingerprint free finish for the black “Midnight” model that actually works!
It’s hard to improve on a laptop we previously considered nearly perfect, but a new chip certainly helps. The M3 processor is about 20 percent faster than the M2 for both single-core and multi-core tasks, and it also features significant GPU performance with support for real-time ray tracing. Battery life is best in class, with enough battery to last you several days without needing a charger.