Peggy K's Creator Weekly: Longer YouTube Shorts, Facebook Monetization, Threads Updates

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Peggy K
October 05, 2024

Hello dear readers! I hope you are having a great weekend. It’s hot hot here in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s hit 100 degrees 3 days this week, and this weekend is supposed to be just as hot. I’m really ready for fall!

This week’s big news is that YouTube Shorts can be up to 3 minutes long. And there are more Shorts updates coming, along with updates for Google Search AI Overviews, Facebook Monetization, Threads Posting and more. 

Top news and updates this week

  • YouTube Shorts can soon be up to 3 minutes long. 

  • More YouTube Shorts features coming: templates, remix music video clips, trends tab, comments proview, and for the haters, “Show fewer Shorts” setting

  • The dispute between Automattic, WordPress and Matt Mullenweg with WP Engine continues to heat up, with a lawsuit filed and employees leaving. 

  • YouTube’s AI-powered comment topics are available in all supported languages. 

  • Adobe Premiere Elements 2025 has some nice new features, but is only licensed for 3 years. 

  • TikTok now has Flip Stories for fun.

  • StreamYard lets you add automatic intro and outro video clips.

  • AdSense Related Search Auto Ads in more languages. 

  • Google Search Knowledge Panels now identify some people as content creators. 

  • Google Search AI Overviews now include more visible links to supporting web pages, and for some searches, ads.

  • Facebook is merging its 3 content monetization programs into one to let creators earn from more types of content.

  • Meta launched Messenger Communities. 

  • You can now find “Best Practices” in the Instagram Professional Dashboard.

  • Threads now lets you edit posts for 15 minutes after posting. 

  • You can now see your Fediverse followers on Threads. 

  • X looks like it will be coming back to Brazil.

  • Gmail is getting redesigned summary cards for purchases, events, bills and travel details. 

  • ChatGPT Canvas is a new interface designed for writing and coding.

  • Meta Movie Gen is an advanced AI-text-to-video generator (but not ready for the public yet). 

  • Plus lots more updates, tips and reading!

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New Tips & Tutorials

Longer YouTube Shorts (and other new Shorts features)

This week YouTube announced that square and vertical videos up to 3 minutes long will be Shorts. This was a much-requested update. Previously Shorts could only be up to a minute long. 

The change will go into effect on October 15. Longer vertical videos uploaded before that date will not be turned into Shorts.

  • Longer Shorts will be shown in the Shorts feed.

  • Longer Shorts will be monetized with Shorts ad revenue sharing or count towards YouTube Partner Program eligibility. 

  • Shorts longer than 60 seconds cannot use music or visuals with a copyright claim and will not be able to use music in the Shorts video editor. You need to use free-to-use music. 

  • The Shorts video editor will not be updated immediately, so it can only be used to create Shorts up to a minute long.

Learn more about the longer Shorts update, monetization requirements and how to get free music for your videos.

But that’s not all. There were additional new Shorts features announced: 

  • Templates. If you find a Short you like, tap Remix and select “Use this template” to create your own version. 

  • Remix clips from inside the Shorts camera (including clips “from your favorite videos and music videos”). You will be able to “pull from multiple clips across YouTube. This may not be available for several months.

  • There is a new Shorts trends page on mobile.

  • Preview comments while browsing in the Shorts feed, without having to open up the comments tab for the Short.

  • If you are not a Shorts fan, you can set the option to “Show fewer Shorts”. If you see a Shorts grid in your Home feed, click the 3 dot menu icon at top right to find that setting. That will temporarily show you fewer Shorts in your home feed.

What’s happening with WordPress? 

As I wrote about last week, WordPress, or more specifically Matt Mullenweg, is in an ugly dispute with WP Engine. As a short recap, here are the players: 

  • Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic, the parent company of the WordPress(dot)com web hosting platform, WooCommerce and other services. He is also founder and director of the non-profit WordPress Foundation, “to further the mission of the WordPress open source project” and is the sole owner of WordPress(dot)org, which distributes free open source WordPress software and updates, a directory of plugins and themes, documentation, and other WordPress tools.

  • WP Engine is a popular company that offers managed hosting for WordPress sites. 

While the main dispute is about the use of the WordPress trademark, it also appears an underlying cause is that Mullenweg believes WP Engine is not contributing enough to the WordPress open source project.

After some not-nice statements about WP Engine by Mullenweg and back and forth cease-and-desist letters. Mullenweg banned WP Engine from using WordPress(dot)org, making it difficult for WP Engine and its users to update their WordPress software and plugins. WP Engine was given a brief reprieve, allowing them access to the site until October 1. 

So what happened this past week? 

WP Engine filed a lawsuit against Automattic and Matt Mullenweg that begins “This is a case about abuse of power, extortion, and greed.” If you are interested in the case, I recommend reading the filing. The WP Engine account on X posted:
“The symbiotic relationship between WordPress, its community and the businesses that invest millions to support WordPress users, and advance the ecosystem, is based on trust in the promises of openness and freedom. Matt Mullenweg’s conduct over the last ten days has exposed significant conflicts of interests and governance issues that, if left unchecked, threaten to destroy that trust. WP Engine has no choice but to pursue these claims to protect its people, agency partners, customers, and the broader WordPress community.”

In response, Automattic denied any wrongdoing and Automattic’s attorney explained the WordPress trademark situation. Automattic originally owned the WordPress trademarks, those were transferred to the non-profit WordPress Foundation, and then the WordPress Foundation licensed the commercial use of the trademarks back to Automattic (and only Automattic). They say other businesses can advertise “hosting for websites built on WordPress software”, but not “WordPress Hosting”. And they actually filed for trademarks on “Hosted WordPress” and “Managed WordPress” earlier this year. WP Engine has characterized this setup as a self-dealing transaction.

Automattic also  shared the term sheet they were pushing WP Engine to accept before the dispute went public. The proposed trademark license agreement asked for 8% of WP Engine's gross revenue (before costs), either to be paid to Automattic, or to fund salaries for WP Engine employees to work on WordPress core features (with direction and auditing by WordPress.org and Automattic). WP Engine claims that the goal was to force them to give back more to the WordPress open source project.

Automattic employees who disagreed with Mullenweg’s actions were offered a buy-out package. 156 (almost 9%) of Automattic employees took that offer. 80% of the people who left were in Automattic’s WordPress division.

I don’t think this is going to be resolved any time soon. 

Anyone who has built a business by offering WordPress services or tools is likely concerned by how this will turn out. 

From the outside, Matt Mullenweg controlling all of WordPress (Automattic and WordPress(dot)com hosting; the non-profit WordPress Foundation; and WordPress(dot)org) doesn’t seem ideal. 

Founder and CEO of Ghost (another open source blog and newsletter platform) John O’Nolan commented: “The web needs more independent organisations, and it needs more diversity. 40% of the web and 80% of the CMS market should not be controlled by any one individual.” 

Video Creator and Live Streaming Updates

On YouTube AI-powered comment topics are now available in all languages supported by YouTube comments. These summarize the topics being discussed in bigger comment sections. Learn more on Creator Insider. 

YouTube shared tips for building community: reply to comments with a Short, share casual behind-the-scenes posts, go live with the community immediately before you Premiere a new video, and if you have Memberships, gift some to your community. 

Andru Edwards interviewed Scott Silver, YouTube’s head of engineering and shopping, about the latest updates, including Hype, AI tools, YouTube on TV and more. Watch the interview.

On Twitch viewers from raids now count towards Partner eligibility. James Hale @ Tubefilter points out that bigger streamers can help small streamers grow their viewers by pointing their audience to the smaller channel.

If you are deep in the Twitch ecosystem, you may have noticed the removal of the “BibleThump” (crying face) emote. Steven Asarch @ Passionfruit has the story: ‘There Was Never a Discussion of Money’: BibleThump Emote Creator Confused by Removal 

Adobe announced Premiere Elements 2025 and Photoshop Elements 2025.  In Premiere Elements video editing updates include more text controls for “dynamic” titles, color correction with a white balance tool, preset color schemes, a simplified editing timeline, and access to Adobe Stock. Photoshop Elements has new AI-powered tools. What caught people’s attention is that the Elements software now only includes a 3 year license, rather than a perpetual license, so you will have to upgrade (or switch software) after the license expires.

TikTok introduced Flip Stories, which lets you upload a hidden image to your Story. You upload two images, one that is immediately visible, and a second image that can be revealed by pressing a “Hold to Flip” button. Think before and after images or a sneak peek. 

StreamYard now lets you add automatic intro and outro video clips to your live stream (think countdown timer intro, for example). This requires a paid account, Core level or higher.

Nebula, a creator-owned streaming platform, now offers subscribers guest passes to share. A guest pass gives the recipient free access to Nebula for a week, essentially a free trial.

Podcasting and Audio

The AdSense Related Search Auto Ads are now available in French, Spanish and Japanese, in addition to French and German. You can turn on Auto Ads for your site, and specify which types of Auto Ads appear, in your AdSense account Ad Settings.

Google Search Knowledge Panels now identify some people as content creators within a particular field (like “Content Creator (Medicine)”). Jason Barnard at Search Engine Land explains why Google recognizing the expertise of creators is good for Search Engine Optimization.

If you have AI Overviews in your Google Search results, you will start to see links to supporting web pages directly within the text. Google says that in testing, “we’ve seen that this improved experience has driven an increase in traffic to supporting websites compared to the previous design, and people are finding it easier to visit sites that interest them.”

Google Search AI Overviews now may show ads to users in the US. While it was probably inevitable, I think it will make the AI Overviews even less reliable for finding information.

Google Search is rolling out AI-organized search results on mobile. It is starting with recipes in the US.

Google Lens now lets you verbally ask questions about things you see in an image or video. You’ll get an AI-generated answer in reply.

Social Media

Facebook is merging its three content monetization programs – Instream ads, Ads on Reels and the Performance bonus – into the Facebook Content Monetization program. This is good for Creators who weren’t eligible for all the different types of monetization. Creators will be able to earn money from Reels, longer videos, image and text posts and see stats on a single unified analytics dashboard. Earnings are not based on ad revenue sharing, but rather based on performance, including post views and video plays. The program is currently in beta, and invite-only. It should open up to more Creators in 2025. Learn more.

Facebook is testing Local and Explore tabs. The Local feed has events, posts, reviews and other local content. Explore is supposed to show you content based on your interests. There will also soon be a dedicated full-screen Video tab.

You can now invite people to Facebook events even if they don’t have a Facebook account. Invite  Instagram followers to an event you created on Facebook. Or you can send email or SMS text message invites.

Facebook is testing Group AI chatbots that can answer questions about the Group, and link to relevant posts.

Meta launched Messenger Communities, meant for smaller communities that don’t need all the features of Facebook Groups. Communities can invite members with a QR code.

The Instagram Professional Dashboard has a new “Best Practices” section with tips and advice about content creation, reach, engagement, monetization and guidelines. The Professional Dashboard is available in the Instagram mobile app to creator and business accounts. You can switch to a creator account in the Instagram settings.

If you download an Instagram Reel, it will have a “sound of Reels on Instagram” appended on the end. Learn how it was created. It’s a different sound than the end of a TikTok sound. How long until Shorts get a boop-beep sound at the end?

Lindsey Gamble reports a new option for Instagram comments: open the menu on a comment you created on an Instagram post, and there is an option to “Create a Thread”. That creates a new Threads post, linking to the original Instagram post, with your comment pre-populated as the post text.

There is now a 15 minute edit window on Threads. This means that Fediverse sharing is delayed for 15 minutes. 

If you have Fediverse sharing turned on for your Threads account, you can now see your Fediverse followers. I think it’s pretty neat to see I have 11 followers from 8 different servers. 

It looks like X will be coming back to Brazil. They will comply with the Brazilian court’s order to remove certain users. But they still need to pay millions of dollars in fines. And will Brazilian users come back to the platform?

Also on X, bold and italic text will no longer show in the home feed. It will be visible if you click to see the full text. Why the change? Elon Musk doesn’t like the way it looks.

I haven’t tried this, but it sounds like an interesting app: The new Reeder app is built for RSS, YouTube, Reddit, Mastodon, and more .

Communication and Collaboration

For added security, Google Meet is introducing watermarking. This is a repeated pattern with the meeting code and viewer’s email address on top of the presentation and participants’ video feeds. These would be visible in a screenshot or screen capture. This is not available while recording or live streaming, and participants who join with a browser that doesn’t support watermarking will not see the video feeds at all. This is available with Google Workspace with a Gemini, AI Security, or AI Meetings & Messaging add-on.

In Google Drive you can now access search filter chips from the search bar. These are filters that let you limit your search results by document type, people and other parameters.

Gmail Q&A, which lets you use Gemini to answer questions about your emails, is now available in the iOS app. It was previously released for the Android Gmail app. This requires a Gemini subscription for Google Workspace or Google One AI Premium.

There are new summary cards for purchases, events, bills, and travel details in the Gmail mobile app. They are easier to read, and have action buttons. For example, for an event you might see buttons to “get directions” or “invite others”. Gmail will also have a new “Happening Soon” section at the top of the Inbox, starting with cards showing when purchases will be delivered.

More AI Updates and News

“Chat with Gemini” will be available on all Chromebooks. It will be pinned to the shelf for easy access. (I don’t see this on my older Chromebook, at least not yet).

ChatGPT introduced Canvas, a new interface for writing and coding. It lets you highlight text to ask ChatGPT questions, suggest edits, make the text longer or shorter, and check for issues with grammar, clarity and consistency.

Meta announced Meta Movie Gen, their new advanced AI text-to-video generator. It can generate video up to 16 seconds long, at 16 frames per second; create “personalized” videos from a real person’s photo and a text prompt; lets you edit existing video by changing the background, or adding or removing elements; and can generate ambient sound, sound effects and background music. Meta’s Chief Product Officer Chris Cox noted that this won’t be available as a product “anytime soon” because “it’s still expensive and generation time is too long.”

Microsoft wants to make Copilot “an AI companion for everyone”. I am not sure what this is about exactly. It anthropomorphizes the AI chatbot (no, it doesn’t “understand” you), and says “over time it’ll adapt to your mannerisms and develop capabilities built around your preferences and needs” and will be a helper in daily life. 

More Reading (and watching)

There is a new video from the Google Product Expert Program, where PEs share their favorite things about the program. It’s just over a minute long. And I appear -- on the thumbnail 😆

Thanks for reading! 🌼