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Creators: Get the latest tips, tutorials and updates!

Are you a video creator, blogger, content collector or curator? Subscribe to get news and tutorials for YouTube, Blogger, AdSense, and other creator tools, platforms, social media, and more!  Learn more about me . Last updated January 2025       Subscribe to the RSS feed      Subscribe to Weekly Creator Updates only Subscribe to my Weekly Creator Newsletter by email Creator Weekly Live!  Join me live on Sundays at 10:30 AM Pacific to discuss the week's creator updates.  Watch or set a notification. Watch previous episodes: Tips, Tutorials & Updates       Blogger Tutorials & Updates        YouTube  and  Live Streaming  Tutorials & Updates        Chat and Meet  Tutorials & Update...
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YouTube's 2025 Updates: Building Engagement, New Stats, Monetization and Second Chances

One of the things I do at the end of December is look back at all the changes that happened over the past year. And it turns out that in 2025 there were a ton of updates for Creators, not only on YouTube, but also Meta’s platforms (Threads, Facebook, Instagram), Twitch, TikTok, Reddit, and so much more. What that means in practical terms is that there’s much too much to review all in a single article. So this week I’m going to give an overview of YouTube’s top updates in 2025 and next week I’ll recap 2025 Creator trends going into 2026. You can find my personal 2025 recap here, with links to my top posts and video tutorials. Thank you so much for reading, watching and joining me live! YouTube’s Top 2025 Updates YouTube is dominating entertainment. YouTube Creators are “ The New Hollywood” , it’s the top video streaming platform , and where people get their podcasts . Part of the magic is that it’s for all types of Creators, both big and small. In 2025 YouTube launched a number ...

My 2025 Year in Review

Thanks to everyone for reading and watching in 2025! Here's a brief recap of my year. 15 Years as a Google Product Expert! Social Media In 2025 my YouTube channel gained nearly 1700 subscribers, with a year-end total of 8,598 subs. My goal for 2026 is to reach 10,000 subscribers, which should be doable! I stopped posting on X , because reading posts there isn’t enjoyable and my shared link posts don’t get any engagement. I don’t miss it. I am currently active on Bluesky and Threads . You can follow me from the Fediverse at @peggykolm@threads.net. Newsletter and Posts This year I published: 50 Creator Weekly newsletters ( subscribe to get the free weekly email!) A 50-part series: 10 Years Ago This Week , which looked at the top tech updates in 2015. Most popular posts:  ...

10YATW: Tracking Santa is Open Sourced

To celebrate 10 years of Creator Weekly, I’m sharing  tech highlights from 2015  that still resonate a decade later.   Ten years ago, Google open-sourced their Santa Tracker and built a new Santa's Village. Watch the Short version. Tracking Santa Santa Tracker and Santa's Village in December 2015 Google launched their first Santa Tracker in 2004 , shortly after acquiring a company called Keyhole, which would become Google Earth. In 2007 they officially partnered with NORAD , which had been tracking Santa since the 1950s.   In 2012, NORAD switched to using Bing Maps . Google continued on their own, using a "new route algorithm " and a site where you could visit Santa's Village to play mini-games and get into the holiday spirit. Open Source Santa In 2015 Google made their Santa Tracker open source , including both the Android and Polymer-based mobile-optimized web versions.  Probably not coincidentally,  Polymer 1.0  (an open-source JavaScri...

Creator Weekly: YouTube languages, Instagram Reels on TV, Twitch Lead Moderators

Dear readers, this is the last of the significant updates for 2025. I’m expecting most platforms to (hopefully) go on holiday until 2026. That means this week there are a ton of smaller updates for YouTube, Instagram and more. There won’t be a newsletter or live stream on the 27th. Stay tuned for my own recap of the year on January 3rd. I hope you have a fantastic holiday! 📨 Subscribe to get Creator Weekly by email. Top news and updates this week There seems to be a finalized contract for TikTok in the US to be taken over by a group of US investors in January. YouTube has new settings for video language preferences. Easily create clips from YouTube Podcasts with AI-powered Suggested Clips. “Edit with AI” to create a video in the YouTube Shorts editor. YouTube Create video editing app is available for iOS in 19 more countries. YouTube is expanding access to Channel Guidelines for comments on videos and in Communities. YouTube Studio mobile app will show comment summaries for ...

10 Years Ago This Week: The questions you ask reveal who you are

To celebrate 10 years of Creator Weekly, I’m sharing  tech highlights from 2015  that still resonate 10 years later. This update was for the  week ending December 19, 2015. Ten years ago this week, Google released their annual Year in Search video, with the theme "the questions we asked revealed who we are", with a focus on inclusion, diversity and community.  This year the Year in Search focused mainly on pop culture and "reimagining your life".  It shouldn't be a surprise that what is essentially a glossy ad for Google Search highlights the positive and reflects changing times. Watch the Short version. People Searching for Ways to Help The opening scene of Google's Year on Search in 2015 shows the question "how can i help the refugees". Google's Year in Search video for 2015 opens with the statement “In 2015 the questions we asked revealed who we are”. The opening scene shows a crowded boat on the open water, and the search q...

Creator Weekly: Instagram Algorithm, TikTok Sharing, Google Photos Video Editor

This week there are a ton of updates, as the big tech companies near the end-of-year code freeze. If something will be launched this year, now is the time! For video creators there are updates for YouTube, Twitch, Instagram and Edits, Facebook, and TikTok. For website owners there are several updates to Google Search Console, improved links in Search, updates to AdSense and more. 📨 Subscribe to get Creator Weekly by email. Top news and updates this week Adjust your Algorithm for Instagram Reels. Facebook updated Profiles, Feed, Search, comments and navigation to improve discovery related to your interests. TikTok adds Shared Collections and Shared Feed linked to your DMs. Google Search is expanding the Preferred Sources option globally. They are also making other changes (including to AI Mode) meant to encourage users to visit websites. Google Search Console is testing social channel data from YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and so forth in Search Console Insights. Google Photos has...