The Viral Russian MrBeast TikTok & The True Value of Views

Today on The Colin & Samir Show we sit down with Paddy Galloway, the YouTube strategist behind over 10 billion views for channels like Red Bull, Jesser and the Philadelphia Eagles. Paddy comes back every year with fresh data, and this time he brought graphs on what he calls the great device shift, the move of YouTube viewership from phones to TV screens. We get into how that shift is reshaping the YouTube homepage, what actually counts as a lot of views in 2026, the difference between formats and shows, and what's working right now for creators. We also talk about how AI is already showing up on YouTube and why editorial curation might be coming back as upload volume keeps climbing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Colin & Samir show we overanalyze one of MrBeast's highest viewed videos ever, a Russian dance TikTok that initially confused us. The video sparked a much larger discussion about views on the internet today and what creators should care about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Four words got Hank Green accused of using AI, and the backlash hasn't stopped. We brought five voices into the room to argue about where the line actually is , thumbnails, outlines, dubbing, research, plus the generational divide nobody's naming, and three principles we landed on for creators using AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Companies are bought, not sold." That's the mindset John Coogan and Jordi Hays say got them a nine-figure acquisition from OpenAI, without ever trying to sell. Recorded live at Press Publish LA, this is our second sit-down with the TBPN guys, but the first since the deal went public. Two years ago they were building a daily live show from scratch. Now they've sold it to OpenAI for nine figures, and they're breaking down exactly how they got there. We get into: Why they chose to nichemaxx in a world full of view-maximizers The importance of having a “golden retriever” mindset Why they never tried to sell the company, and how that gave them leverage What their role at OpenAI actually is It's a candid look at how staying disciplined about who you're serving can be worth more than chasing scale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Creator ad spend is hitting thirty-nine billion dollars in 2026, and traditional video reads are no longer the standard. In this episode, we break down our new partnership with Lexus and we outline the four ways creators are making money with brands today: As distribution for brand reach. As talent for native likeness. As directors and creatives using platform expertise. As consultants bridging the gap between major corporations and internet culture. Lastly we review some of our favorite creator ads on YouTube with our story produce Conor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Traditional networks are no longer just looking to creators for marketing—they want premium, long-term IP. Today we explore how independent comedy powerhouse YMH Studios scaled past traditional gatekeepers and why Fox Entertainment just signed a major multi-project slate with them. What you’ll get in this episode: The Deal Breakdown: Inside the co-ownership structure of the brand-new Fox and YMH slate. The Creator-CEO Blueprint: How Tom Segura built an arena-selling infrastructure entirely direct-to-consumer. The Scale Formula: Why protecting creative momentum and building your own distribution engine is the ultimate leverage in media today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are live from the LinkedIn Lounge for Day 3 of Cannes Lions. Today, we sit down with creative director Pablo Rochat, industry legend Sir John Hegarty, and e.l.f. Beauty President Kory Marchisotto to discuss the shifting dynamics of storytelling. Discover why the best brands act like entertainment studios, how to manage community feedback during high-risk campaigns, and the ultimate rule of effective advertising: tell the truth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live from Cannes Lions, This is the Daily Brief from the LinkedIn Lounge. In this episode of The Daily Brief from the Linkedin Lounge, we dive into a massive piece of news that dropped yesterday: Instagram is launching a horizontal video hub on TVs. With YouTube already dominant in the living room, what does Meta’s latest move mean for creators, audiences, and ad dollars? We debate whether Instagram can truly compete with YouTube’s massive library, or if its cultural cachet gives it a unique edge. Plus, we take a look into the future of work and how the creative landscape is shifting. We discuss why creative work can’t be done by committee, the rise of the "agentic layer" in AI workflow tools, and the surprising reason recent college graduates are pushing back against AI. Watch the full episode on Linkedin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live from the LinkedIn Lounge at Cannes Lions, we break down why traditional advertising is broken and what's actually working today. Spending millions on a single, polished TV commercial doesn't work anymore—it just gets lost in the noise. We sit down with creator Anthpo, Ramp’s Kendall Hope Tucker, and Adobe’s Lara Balazs to look at how real brands are catching people's attention by being entertaining and acting like creators themselves. What we cover: The Power of Stunts: Why Ramp puts Kevin from The Office in a glass box, and how they pull it off without a corporate committee ruining the idea. The New Brand Deal: Why creators are moving past basic shoutouts and actually helping big companies build their entire strategy. Moving Fast with AI: How Adobe uses new tools to handle the boring parts of making videos and images so teams can focus on the big ideas. The End of Google Search: Why people are looking for things inside AI chatbots instead of search engines, and what that means for brands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on The Colin & Samir Show we sit down with Markiplier and YouTube's Tim Katz, live from the Fox Studios lot in front of 650 creators at Press Publish LA: The Hollywood Creator Summit. After more than 15 years building one of YouTube's most personal channels, Markiplier put Hollywood on notice with Iron Lung, the horror film he financed, wrote, directed, and starred in. The film pulled in close to $52 million in theaters and is now on YouTube. We get into why he treated a feature film like a YouTube video, what he learned leading a hundred-person crew, why he stays his own harshest critic, and how he sees this collision of YouTube and Hollywood playing out for creators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices