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Inside MrBeast and Mark Rober’s $40M fundraiser
Instagram launches 3 new features

Best YouTube thumbnails of the week

MrBeast & Mark Rober Raise $10M and Debut YouTube's "Collabs" Tool

MrBeast and Mark Rober just launched Team Water, a campaign to raise $40 million to provide clean water to over 2 million people.

And they used YouTube’s new collab feature to kick it off.

MrBeast first told me about Team Water months ago and I've seen a lot of the process behind-the-scenes.

Here's what stood out, why they've already raised $10M, and how to take part:

First, Quick Recap:

$1 donated = 1 year of clean water

Funds go to WaterAid and other nonprofits cleaning water.

Rober and MrBeast previously led Team Seas and Team Trees where they fundraised $30M and $20M.

Behind The Scenes:

Here's why they've already raised $10M of their $40M goal.

"Hey, It's MrBeast Calling": Donaldson hit the phones. Hard. During hour-long meetings, he and the team would dial creators to take part with Donaldson texting and calling creators of all sizes personally.

Sharing, Made Easy: Donaldson and Rober worked with Matt Fitzgerald, Scott Chan, and Whirled creative agency to create assets for thumbnails and videos, and send merch so creators could take part. Instantly.

Always Top of Mind: at big creator events, Donaldson and Rober brought Team Water merch to film with creators like Kai Cenat months ahead of launch.

3,000+ Creators Took Part, Including:

Johnny Harris dropped a mini-doc on the bottled water industry.

Vt.physics tested surprising water experiments

Rober had MrBeast to drink his own filtered pee to show the filtration in action.

YouTube’s New Feature:

The campaign also debuted YouTube’s new collab tool, which lets creators invite each other as collaborators on videos.

In MrBeast’s Team Water video, he added Mark Rober, Stokes Twins, and Ben Azelart — making the video more visible to their audiences, too.

But the video only lives on the host's channel, so you won't see MrBeast's video on Mark Rober's channel.

For smaller creators, this could unlock a whole new wave of growth.

Our Take

Don't be surprised if Harvard Business Review writes a case study about Team Water one day.

For creators and nonprofits, it's a modern blueprint for activism. For platforms like YouTube, it's a savvy way to launch a new feature.

To take part, check out Team Water's creator page.

Creators React to Instagram's 3 New Features

Instagram just unveiled 3 new features that will change the platform as we know it.

But what do creators think about it? Let's break it down.

New Features

Reposts: reshare Feed Posts and Reels, which will show up in your followers' feeds.

Friends Reels Feed: dedicated Reels tab to see what your friends are watching.

Friends Map: Live-share your last location, or the location of a post or reel. Similar to Snap Map.

Creators React

Some loved the focus on connecting friends. Others just want their content to actually reach followers.

Brock Johnson (729K followers): "If you're a small business owner or creator, getting more reposts will directly lead to more views."

Pretty Fly Designs (31K followers): "My followers say they just want to see my posts. That’s all."

Vendors Home Media (8K followers): "At this point, just call it Instatok!"

Our Take

There are no more "unique" features to a platform. Reposts? Basically X's Retweets.

Friends Map? It's essentially SnapMaps.

Even YouTube's new collab tool...Instagram did it in 2021.

Pandora's box opened when Instagram launched Stories in 2016 after Snap did it first.

Oh, and this won't stop. I predict YouTube will launch a DM feature. TikTok will add their version of Snap Maps too.

Every platform borrows. Every platform blends. As creators, it's our job to anticipate and adapt.

🎯 Weekly Roundup: YouTube Thumbnails

Why we love these YouTube thumbnails:

Bright test tubes + “Science of Happiness” text make the concept feel instantly clear and intriguing (Max Joseph)
Runners crawling through a sandstorm hints at a brutally tough race (Average Rob)
“DO NOT EAT” stamped over a bowl of strawberries sparks instant curiosity (Joe Delaney)
Mid-air rocket + nuclear explosion sets up high-stakes before and after (Johnny Harris)

🚀 Weekly Outlier

This video by SwiftFilms has 1.1M views, which is 477 times higher than the channel’s average. Here's why it took off:

Analog, Not Algorithm: In a world of productivity apps, it offers a refreshingly tactile approach — using pen and paper to break digital habits.

Builds Layers: Starts with a relatable struggle (doomscrolling) and stacks increasingly helpful tools, creating momentum and depth.

Book + Creator Synthesis: Blends insights from bestselling authors and popular creators into a personal, easy-to-follow system.

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- Jon

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