Steroid videos on TikTok?? 😠

What a week! 🤷🏼‍♀️

Never have we been looking forward to this Friday, but now that we're here, let's check out what's brewing hot in the creator economy.

In today's Going Solo

• Friday advice: Neil Gaiman on ideas

• Discover a new creator: The Untravel Show for travel stories

• News that caught our eye: Steroid videos on TikTok?

• A creator-run brand we can't stop loving: Chamberlain Coffee

Neil Gaiman on Ideas

Whether it’s fiction or talking about creativity and storytelling, there’s nobody quite like Neil Gaiman. While there is a great deal one can learn from Gaiman’s Masterclass, his books like Art Matters or The View from the Cheap Seats are a masterclass in writing, observation, and learning.

There’s something Gaiman said about conjuring ideas that made sense. 👇🏼

Also watch Gaiman talking about where to get ideas from. 👇🏼

Discover a New Creator: The Untravel Show

If I’m being honest, social media has made way for thousands of travel bloggers, and most of them resemble each other. It’s the same tried-and-tested strategy: great thumbnails, gorgeous locations, to-do lists. But hardly ever do they nail the aspect of storytelling.

And you know what I say — it’s good stories that make the world go round. 🌎

Abhishek Vaid’s The Untravel Show isn’t your regular cookie-cutter travel channel. Having quit his corporate job in his 30s, Abhishek took to travel filmmaking, and what makes his videos phenomenal is his storytelling. While his writing is quite killer, he also brings out immersive stories of towns and people that keep you hooked to the channel. Whether it’s Kashmir or Kerala — you’ll find him ‘living the life’ with locals, exploring the less trodden paths, and bringing out some hidden gems.

If you haven’t checked out this channel yet, here’s a good reason to do it now.

Why Are Steroid Videos Exploding on TikTok?

We don't like this news, ya! 🤷🏼‍♀️

Social media helps you discover so many great things. Especially, TikTok, which introduces diverse authors, movies, and small businesses everyday.

News outlets have been reporting that TikTok is flooding with information on steroids and medication that are potentially harmful. And no, this information isn't shared by doctors or medical practitioners. Check out some information here.

You already know this — the most active users on TikTok and social media, in general, are teenagers and kids of age 10 years upwards. With content promoting steroids and impressionable minds having access to it is quite a concern. TechCrunch report says, "While the vendors selling these drugs generally don’t target underage users directly according to the report, they increasingly rely on social media influencers on apps like TikTok to promote their products through affiliate marketing."

Don't you think TikTok should bring in stringent content guidelines?

Read the entire report. 👇🏼

Why Are Chamberlain Coffee Campaigns So Good?

We know, we know! Chamberlain Coffee has been around for a while, and you must be wondering if we're dinosaurs to talk about it now. But don't. Their weekly emails or social campaigns are so killer that we can't stop talking about them.

We think it'll become more than just a coffee brand; it'll become an aspirational lifestyle brand.

Emma and Chamberlain, as a brand, have nailed the art of collaborations. Whether it's working with artists for coffee bag packaging or partnering with Osmo Salt to craft flavored salts like Cinnamon Bun and Hazelnut — this brand knows how to get users back for more. Plus, look at the brand aesthetics on Instagram. How not to look away?

What do you think about it?

P.S. We're sipping some Chamberlain coffee as we write this, and we love the flavours! Get yourself some brew. 👇🏼

🔥 Brewing Hot

• Did you go through Linktree's latest report on creator economy? Check it out here.

• Looks like TikTok is developing a creative assistant that can help us with creating ads on TikTok. Find more details here.

• We’re conducting a survey on how much APAC creators make. Are you a creator from Asia? Please fill this survey out for us, and help creators like you charge what’s their worth.

And that’s it for this week!

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We’ll be back with more updates next Friday. 👋 

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