A new era of short-form video is sweeping the internet, forcing all kinds of creators — from podcasters to photographers and publishers — to adjust their media strategies, Axios' Sara Fischer reports.

Why it matters: There have never been so many opportunities to create content online, but business incentives are driving creative individuals and enterprises to chase the same viral trends.

Be smart: "With TikTok, Instagram Reels and some other new platforms, the addiction is to the platform," said Sasha Kaletsky, co-founder of Creator Ventures, a creator economy investment firm. "The user isn't looking for any specific creator, they are looking to be entertained," he told Axios on stage last month.

For creators, that means a broad move into quick, cheap behind-the-scenes videos.

• TV journalists, eager to build new audiences as linear TV fades, are leaning into "get ready with me" videos that show their morning-rush routines.
• Photographers are posting videos of their photo shoots and dramatic before-and-after photo edits.
• Podcasters are posting videos of themselves interviewing guests in their recording studios that they hope will lure users to their shows on Spotify or Apple.
• Meme makers even tried posting meme images as short videos on platforms like Instagram to boost their rankings in the app's algorithms.

By the numbers: A new report from mobile analytics firm data.ai finds users spend on average 3.1 billion hours globally streaming user-generated content daily on mobile-native, short-form video apps like TikTok and YouTube.

Zoom out: Almost all of the user growth amongst teens online is going towards short-form video apps. That means the best shot creators can take at building an audience is to lean into viral video trends — even if they aren't video professionals.

How we got here: The explosive rise of TikTok during the pandemic and growing concerns around user data privacy have pushed nearly every major social media company to fundamentally shift their strategy for distributing content.

• Meta said in July it would emphasize recommending Facebook content to users based on what's going viral over boosting content based on social connections — a change that would transform the app to feel more like TikTok.

Yes, but: When it began rolling out those changes on Instagram — an app built for photographers, artists and other creative professionals — users revolted.

• "A lot of artists are having a lot of trouble with the shift," Kaya Yurieff, a reporter for The Information who focuses on the creator economy, told Axios. "But they're embracing video because they don't have much of a choice anymore."

National Geographic, the publisher with the largest following on social media, is facing that pressure. "Our incredible social reach is largely based on our strength on Instagram, which is based on our strength in photography, which is great," National Geographic's new editor-in-chief Nathan Lump told Axios last month.

• "But obviously, we know that video is driving a lot of engagement in social, and that's where a lot of growth is in terms of engagement and users and social platforms. And so we need to put a lot more emphasis there."

Between the lines: For now, the user adoption of short-form video has outpaced business opportunities for creators.

• "Ad load on short-form video products remains low as platforms prioritize growing engagement rather than monetization at this point," analysts at MoffettNathanson wrote in a memo to clients earlier this year.
• BuzzFeed blamed that dynamic, in part, for having to lay off 12% of its workforce earlier this month.

What's next: There are still more people than ever who are making new content, and some observers believe the advent of generative AI tools like Dall-E, Stable Diffusion and ChatGPT will make it even easier for newcomers.

• But many artists distrust generative AI. They object to AI firms' use of vast quantities of data, including some material under copyright, to train the programs. And they fear the new tools will make their tough business even tougher.

Google filed a key defense brief Thursday in a Supreme Court case that could reshape the legal landscape for online publishers and services, Axios' Ashley Gold reports.

Driving the news: Google told the court that tampering with Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects firms from liability for content their users post, would "undercut a central building block of the internet."

Why it matters: Gonzalez v. Google, the case that the Supreme Court will hear next month, will decide whether Section 230's protections apply to the algorithms that YouTube and other platforms use to select what content to show users.

Background: In Gonzalez v. Google, relatives of victims of an ISIS attack are suing Google-owned YouTube for allegedly helping turn viewers into terrorists.

• Justice Clarence Thomas has suggested the court place new limits on the reach of Section 230.
• Plaintiffs argue that Section 230's protection does not extend to algorithmically created recommendations, since YouTube plays a role in deciding which videos to recommend to users.
• Google contends Section 230 protects YouTube's methods of organizing users' posts, and weakening the law would only make it harder to filter out terrorism content.

What they're saying: "The stakes could not be higher. A decision undermining Section 230 would make websites either remove potentially controversial material or shut their eyes to objectionable content to avoid knowledge of it," Google general counsel Halimah DeLaine Prado wrote in a blog post.

• "You would be left with a forced choice between overly curated mainstream sites or fringe sites flooded with objectionable content."

What's next: Smaller tech companies also reliant on third-party content and other parties will file supporting briefs in the coming weeks.

Go deeper: Supreme Court's liability case could scramble the online world

Android co-founder Rich Miner credits "Star Trek" for helping lead him to a career in tech and inspiring several products he created.

As a way to pay tribute, Miner is now helping fund a sculpture honoring the show and Leonard Nimoy, the late actor who portrayed Spock.

Details: Miner, who still works at Google, said he heard that Boston's Museum of Science wanted to honor Nimoy with a memorial sculpture, but was having some challenges raising the needed money, so he chipped in with a six-figure donation.

• "I just offered to put in an anchor grant and make sure it got done," Miner said.

What they're saying: Miner told Axios that he has fond memories of growing up a young geek in Natick, Massachusetts, watching reruns of every episode of the original TV show.

• "It was definitely part of the ethos that had me interested in tech," Miner said. He also credits "Star Trek" with helping inspire Wildfire, an early voice assistant from the 1990s, as well as a partial inspiration for Android itself.
• "The idea of a tricorder — this incredible computer in your hand — wasn't lost on us when we were doing Android," Miner told Axios.

On Tap

• DLD Munich 23 continues through Saturday.

Trading Places

• Kirsten Kliphouse, Google Cloud's top U.S. sales executive, is leaving the company and will be replaced by Google Cloud International president Adaire Fox-Martin, per The Information.
• Former Ping Identity chief operating officer Kris Nagel has joined fraud prevention firm Sift as CEO.

ICYMI

• Apple CEO Tim Cook will take a 40% compensation cut this year. (Axios)

I can confirm there is a Lego store in Munich ... and it is lieblich.