The Influencer Chronicles #13
The #13th edition of the Influencer Chronicles is here, and creators have been summer-maxxing hard 😎. From dream ice cream jobs and viral mispronunciations to volleyball pianos, microdramas and the baby bike dad who somehow became the internet’s favourite father of the summer, the internet has been serving plenty of chaos.
This month, we’re getting into the TikTok-worthy moments shaping the feed from Instagram wanting us to watch for longer and YouTube making Shorts creators work for their views, to the big question: is Zara Larsson, the voice of the summer, officially getting cancelled? 👀
We’re also unpacking what happens when a brand turns a viral mispronunciation into a marketing moment, and why people simply having fun continues to cut through. From creators turning hobbies into careers to athletes becoming internet favourites simply by being themselves, we can’t seem to get enough of people who are genuinely having fun and not taking themselves too seriously 🫶..
And to make this edition even better, we’ve got a special guest writer joining us with their own take on the creator culture of the moment.
So, grab your coffee, get scrolling, and pretend this counts as work 💻. Hope you enjoy! ☕️
On the radar
SH*T JUST GOT REAL
Alexandra Houx Grounds’ SH*T SHOES went viral! One of her latest videos showing off the platforms blew up online after the internet asked for them. The best part? This all started as an April Fool’s prank!
Once known as an NYC oil painter, the influencer got honest about her constipation issues and launched her digestive wellness brand, Let Loose. On April Fool’s, they posted AI pictures of these platform sandals designed to raise your knees on the toilet, like a fashion Squatty Potty. So many people commented saying they’d actually buy the product that she brought them to life!
SNOOP’S GOT A SWEET GIG
Forget the 9-to-5. Snoop Dogg is offering the ultimate dream job: getting paid $10,000 a month to eat ice cream. Yes, you read that right. Dr. Bombay, Snoop’s ice cream brand, is on the hunt for its next Ice Cream Taster, with applications open to candidates around the world. The job description? Taste the ice cream, share your thoughts, and presumably try not to eat the entire freezer plus earning a $120K annual salary.
Too good to be true? Apply here
PASS THAT PANERA
Panera Bread is modernising its image by teaming up with digital creator Jake Shane for their new Mix & Match value deals. The collab is effortless as Jake has been a vocal, organic fan of the brand long before this. For the campaign, they produced a series of chaotic, mock behind-the-scenes ads where Jake brings his signature unhinged humor to the corporate shoot like eating props and taking personal calls right while the camera rolls. To lean into the bit, the official Panera Instagram bio even reads “this is a jake shane stan account,” adding major cultural credibility to the whole Gen Z vibe.
Topics of the month
Reel…long story
Instagram is getting ready to stretch the Reel. The platform is testing 20 min. Reels, giving creators more room for vlogs, tutorials and reviews, aka, content that might otherwise send us to YouTube. It’s also testing Explore in Stories for wider discovery and music on carousels, giving photo dumps a shot at the Reels tab.For creators, that means more discovery, storytelling and reach. For brands, more opportunities for creator partnerships that feel like entertainment, not advertising. The takeaway? Instagram wants you to stay.
YOUTUBE’S 10M Rule
YouTube is raising the bar for Shorts. Starting February 2027, creators will need 10M qualified Shorts views every 90 days to keep earning from Shorts. Miss the mark? Creators won’t lose their channel, but their Shorts revenue will pause until they hit 10M again. For creators, this could mean spreading their short-form strategy across TikTok and Instagram to keep reach, engagement and brand opportunities moving. Because 10M views every 90 days is no an easy ask, and putting all their efforts in one platform could come at a cost.
Live Stream AI bAN
TikTok is finally drawing a line with AI, starting with Tik Tok shop. From now on US broadcasters are prohibited from using any sort of AI-generated voices or pre-recorded audio during their LIVEs. While this policy update only applies to the US market, it marks as one of the clearest bans in AI policy yet. Human-to-human connection once again proves to be more effective. Does this mean the end of AI generated content on this platform? Not necessarily, but it raises an important question, can humans actually do the job better?
Personality of the month
Turns out, with a little bit of confidence and talent you can get really far, and Harry Mack is living proof of that. By engaging pedestrians in his art, he collects simple words and, in the matter of seconds, turns them into a rap song. His truly impressive freestyling skills make the internet go crazy and leave people in awe. After watching his videos, you’ll be so hypnotized you’ll realize maybe your attention span isn’t so damaged after all. Go check him out for yourself, but remember, we warned you!
Why should you follow them?
Harry feels like a breath of fresh air, in the era of AI and a lack of creativity, his unique character brings authentic human skills back. It inspires people and shows that art and originality aren’t dead after all – better yet, they are more alive than ever.
Wildcard Spotlight
Meet BRÖ: A French indie artist now turned ultimate multitasker serving top-tier vocals (and volleys) on TikTok. She drops stunning song covers with heavenly vocals, all while casually volleying a volleyball in rhythm with her pal at the piano. Talk about a talent for doing everything at once! Her viral clip, a cover of Beyoncé’s Halo cheekily renamed “Bal-O, is blowing up feeds, proving she can serve flawless vocals and volleys at the same time, completely effortlessly.
Why should you follow them?
Because where else can you see and hear three totally different rhythms somehow come together at once so flawlessly? Heavenly notes, a dude crushing it on the keys, and the suspense of how long they can keep the volley rally going?
Guest Writer of the Month
Bryony Dodds
Senior Social Media Specialist at Booking.com
Being on the internet these days can feel pretty uninspiring. If it’s not another influencer’s desperate cry to “hit 20K before summer ends,” it’s another ‘hot-take’ text-over-video. It feels like we all want an audience in some way or another.
As someone who works in social media and building a small brand on the side (meaning I’m constantly thinking about ‘content’ sigh), I can’t pretend I haven’t fallen victim to appeasing the algorithm in the past (I too have come embarrassingly close to posting an “it’s kinda chic” video).
But occasionally, the algorithm delivers the cold shower you desperately need when you’re starved of sincerity. For me, that familiar internet face has been: Zara Larsson.
I never skip a Zara Larsson video. Do I rate her music? Not really. But watching someone do what they love without carrying the weight of seriousness is addictive and kinda freeing to watch. That’s why we all fell in love with Erling Haaland this summer, and Alysa Liu last olympics. They’re a refreshing reminder that if you’re not having fun doing something you enjoy, then what really is the point?
Spill the tea
1.VASELINE, more like Baseline
One mispronunciation went viral-ish. Vaseline saw an opportunity. After Korean beauty creator @mindaylee_ called Vaseline “Baseline,” the brand jumped on the joke, rebranding its socials. Cute idea. Except the comments weren’t buying it. Viewers questioned how viral the video really was and accused the brand of trying to hard. A reminder that reactive marketing only works when the internet gets the joke. Otherwise, the brand risks becoming the punchline.
2. Baby Bike Momzillas Assemble
This sweet dad and son went viral this summer with their bike strolls and the toddler’s cute comments. But after a video dropped of the baby asking for a “baby bike” and the dad getting emotional about the milestone, TikTok moms went cray-cray, claiming the kid is way too little for his own bike.
Well, IYKYK, this newsletter is written in the Netherlands, the land of bikes, where the age limit for biking is basically leaving your mum’s womb. Let the kid ride!
3. Zara Larsson: cancelled?
In October 2025 Zara Larsson started her “Midnight Sun” tour. When it seemed like she was smoothly reaching the end, she received sudden backlash. Why? In her tour containing over 100 shows one of them wasn’t completely sold out. In order to prevent that she posted a dancing TikTok. But the feedback? Brutal. The tickets seemed to be way more expensive compared to a normal person’s salary in Bangkok, and she was called out for giving unreasonable prices and being another one of those out-of touch celebrities.
What have we learned?
PERSONALITY CUTS THROUGh
From Harry Mack and BRÖ to Zara Larsson, creators and celebrities keep proving that personality still cuts through the noise, and wins audiences over. When creators lean into what makes them genuinely entertaining, talented or simply themselves, people notice. In a feed increasingly packed with polished and AI-generated content, you don’t always need bigger production or shinier content to stand out. The takeaway? Sometimes, being more you is the strongest strategy.
NOT EVERY TREND NEEDS A BRAND
Vaseline’s Baseline moment is a good reminder that being reactive doesn’t always mean being relevant. Jumping on a viral moment can be a smart way to join the conversation, but there’s a fine line between being part of the cultural moment and trying a little too hard. There’s a fine line between joining culture and chasing it. The best reactive content feels natural, timely and true to the brand.
KEEP YOUR OPTIONS OPEN
Instagram is making Reels longer, YouTube is raising the bar for Shorts, and TikTok is tightening its rules around AI. The platforms are constantly shifting the goalposts, making a multi-platform strategy more important than ever, giving creators more opportunities to reach audiences, test formats and keep growing.
The takeaway? Don’t build your strategy around one platform. Build it to survive the next update.