Keeping It Currant: January 2026

Welcome to the latest issue of Keeping It Currant, a newsletter brought to you by Social Currant & Girl and the Gov®. If you’re new here, this monthly inbox drop lives at the intersection of the creator economy and the social impact space, providing the latest need-to-know on how to navigate this rapidly evolving digital space. And since we’re doing introductions, before you scroll, be sure to pop in and say hello in the Social Currant’s Slack channel for creators, here.

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Reports, stats, & data to know in the creator world

→  From the CEO: What’s Coming to YouTube in 2026: Well, it’s already almost a month into 2026, but with 11 months ahead of us, this priorities report on what’s to come from YouTube via CEO, Neal Mohan may still prove useful for current and soon-to-be YouTubers alike. Of particular note are Mohan’s thoughts on AI slop, mentioning that YouTube is taking a cautious approach to ‘dealing with it,’ wanting the platform to be a place for free expression but also for quality content.

→ Pinterest Palette 2026: Dropping five hues that carry loads of visual interest, Pinterest’s 2026 Palette is here, and includes Cool Blue, Jade, Plum Noir, Wasabi, and Persimmon. The published palette includes the hex #, making them easy to pull into branding for social posts, and more.

→ TikTok’s Next 2026 Trend Forecast: The 6th annual trend forecast from TikTok is, as always, ‘positioned’ towards marketers. However, creators are brands, and brands need to market themselves to be successful, including on TikTok. So, alas, this trend forecast found its way to this newsletter, and is a quick, but must-read on what the platform has identified as its top three ‘trend signals’ for the year: “Reali-TEA,” "Curiosity Detours,” “Emotional ROI.” Marketing department lingo aside, each of these signals provides insights into content that wins with viewers, and provides three content buckets to consider tapping into.

Your FAQs answered directly from the source

If you’re of the chronically online variety, there’s a good chance you’ve already seen some chatter about the Creator Bill of Rights resolution–but what is it actually all about? I’m Sammy at Girl and the Gov®, the writer behind this yap-scroll, and I sat down with Rep. Ro Khanna to get the need-to-know – here’s the full 411: 

Sammy @ Girl and the Gov®: What exactly is the Creator Bill of Rights resolution?

Congressman Ro Khanna [D-CA]: “The Creator Bill of Rights is a resolution that was created after consulting creators Lisandra Vasquez and Shira Lazar about the lack of predictability in platform-driven work. The resolution supports fairer treatment, economic security, and transparency for creators and digital workers in the modern platform-based economy. “

Sammy @ Girl and the Gov®: What was the inspo for the introduction of the resolution?

Congressman Ro Khanna [D-CA]: “More than 12% of US adults earn an income from the creator economy, and it employs more than 10 million Americans full time. It is important that there are laws protecting Americans who earn their income from this rapidly growing industry and ensuring they are always able to secure basic rights, like healthcare.” 

Sammy @ Girl and the Gov®: Where do you hope the resolution will land?

Congressman Ro Khanna [D-CA]: “The resolution sets the framework for businesses to establish greater creator protections and for future legislation to increase transparency and enact real change. With the help of creators, advocates, and industry leaders continuing to raise awareness, the resolution will strengthen creators’ power over compensation, data access, and working conditions.”

Sammy @ Girl and the Gov®: What is one takeaway you hope creators have in reading through the Creator Bill of Rights and/or learning about it?

Congressman Ro Khanna [D-CA]: “I’m hopeful creators who are reading the Creator Bill of Rights feel represented and are inspired to continue advocacy for this resolution to pass through Congress as well as for greater access to healthcare and workplace protections.”

…and for more details, here’s Rep. Khanna on the clock app:

Creator-centric openings to go after

→ Join the Connecticut Content Creator Collaborative: The great state of Connecticut has launched the Connecticut Content Creator Collaborative better known as C4, which operates an online directory connecting content creators with local businesses in the state. The program aims to make it easier for creators and businesses alike in finding collaborative partners that are in their neck of the woods. More details and where you can register as a C4 creator can be found here.

→ Apply to be a freelance video producer at More Perfect Union: The digital first journalism meets education meets advocacy platform, More Perfect Union is looking to bring on a freelance video producer in the sports niche to expand their coverage in that arena [literally]. More details and how to apply can be found here.

→ Pitch yourself for paid campaigns via Social Currant: Getting paid to post about what you care about is a win for you and a win for your audience. And on the Social Currant platform, creators like you are able to connect directly with leading progressive organizations to discuss paid collaboration opportunities. Tl;DR: instead of going down the RocketReach rabbit hole to find the right contact to pitch, you can do it through the Social Currant platform when you join here.

→ Apply to be a social media producer at the Boston Globe: The Boston-focused publication is looking to hire a social media producer to work on the B-Side, the publication’s newsletter and social media pages focused on all-things fun under the sun for young people in the city – think food, culture, events, etc. More details and how to apply can be found here.

→ Apply to be a field shooter/editor on the Morning Brew’s Out There with Macy Gilliam series: For those seeking a contract role that’s all about short-form vertical video in the unscripted realm, the Morning Brew’s Out There with Macy Gilliam series is looking to tap a NY-based creative to join the team. More details and how to apply can be found here.

Save ‘em, share ‘em

For creators looking to turn their LinkedIn to a major lead generator: LinkedIn is really become the it kid on the social media streets, and it’s not just because of its algorithm – it’s also because of its ability to generate leads, whether that’s subscribers for a newsletter or another social channel, or for business founded by a creator. This playbook from Brandon Smithwrick and Hubspot outlines a system for content on the platform that not just performs in terms of views, but results in leads. 

For creators trying to best strategize on how to pitch their fave brands: If you don’t ask, you don’t get, and that notion certainly applies to brand partnerships and collaborations. So, if you’re taking the pitch into your own hands [hint: you should], what are the basic rules of engagement for doing so? This guide from Social Currant walks you P’s & Q’s, and includes a sample email to consider when you’re drafting your own.

For creators and teams looking for content ideas and trends: There are a lot of content trend briefs out there, but very few of them are made specifically with political content top of mind. Cue, #VIRAL from Girl and the Gov®, which drops the latest in content trends and creative ideas that work for political applications. Whether you’re working for an elected or posting content yourself, the newsletter shares ideas for a range of styles, vibes, and goals. 

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TIKTOK → After a see-saw of back and forth over what would come of TikTok in the U.S., the clock app is seeing new life in a new structure, the TikTok USDA Joint Venture LLC that was created to be in compliance with a Trump executive order. The result? American and global investors holding 80.1% and ByteDance retaining 19.9%. Also amongst the results so far are massive complaints from creators sharing that they’re videos are sitting at zero views, uploads aren’t working, the FYP is broken, and more. The critiques have bled into accusations of censorship, especially from creators that have spoken up against ICE, the president or even tried to type the word “Epstein,” and now a threat from California Gov. Gavin Newsom to investigate. The platform claimed the glitches were because of a power outage, but people aren’t exactly buying it.

YOUTUBE → The platform announced updates to its ad-friendly guidelines, marking a win for news, political, and other creators who cover topics previously labeled “controversial,” such as abortion. The changes allow videos discussing issues like suicide and sexual or domestic abuse to qualify for full monetization, provided they avoid graphic or extreme depictions. This policy shift opens the door to greater ad revenue opportunities for creators addressing important subjects in a non-sensational way. To note, content on child abuse and eating disorders will continue to not be eligible for full monetization.

SUBSTACK → Substack is leaning hard into being an all-in-one media platform, and its latest launch – the Substack TV app – underscores that ambition. Still in beta, the app lets Substack’s independent publishers distribute video podcasts on big screens [yes, the talk show, reborn in 2026]. Creators already publishing video through a Substack newsletter and/or the mobile app will automatically see that content appear on Apple TV and Android TV. The app also supports livestreams – because apparently live TV is back from the dead as well.

TWITTER → The Starter Pack feature, which has become synonymous with Bluesky, is falling victim to a social media platform copycat – Twitter. The platform announced its plan to roll out its own version of Starterpacks [yes, theirs is spelled slightly differently], with the same core motivator – connecting users with accounts aligned to their interests. The other differentiator aside from spelling, is that Twitter’s lists are being built internally based on Twitter’s internal data.

News at a glance from ‘round the creator sphere

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