The Frenemy Report: Are You Verified?

Once you've breezed through Instagram's 50-page 'Creator's Handbook,' here's a growing trend: Influencers need to clean up their act. Building off of Cannes, where Unilever sounded a rallying cry, Mediakix released another Influencer Fraud study, diving into faux influencers + free hotel stays (ICYMI, here's the first).So what is that blue check mark even good for? It's a high-class cultural pass, allowing "verified" influencers or those with over 20K followers to check out an exclusive Los Angeles mural -- the social backlash unveiled our favorite marketing stunt in a minute, for "Like and Subscribe" -- a new Verizon go90 series.[Update: 3:10 PM PST: Verizon's go90 service has officially been shuttered.]Speaking of "subscribe" -- while the Daily Beast unveils "The Beast Inside" for $100/year, Apple may have one bundle to rule them all.Be sure to check out TV[R]EV's exclusive coverage coming straight outta VidCon: Why I’m Glad I Went to VidCon and Not Cannes, Five Takeaways From VidCon For Brands, Influencers And The Rest of Us, and Ten Questions With IAB President Patrick Dolan. Instagram Releases 50-Page ‘Creators Handbook’ Comprising Top Tips For IGTV [Tubefilter]Fresh off the launch of IGTV, Instagram has compiled a brand new handbook for creators that purports to help them with audience growth and brand-building by harnessing the platform’s novel long-form vertical format. The 50-page reference guide, available here, advises that users enable their camera phone grids to better frame subjects vertically.Buzz Came From Unexpected Places in 2018 NBA Draft [Broadcasting & Cable]Emotion measurement company Canvs compiled Emotional Reactions (ERs) from Twitter for the entire event, revealing the surprising results. Kevin Knox, drafted ninth overall by the New York Knicks, was the leading team/player topic, generating over 6,000 ERs. He was followed closely by Lonnie Walker IV, who went 18th to the San Antonio Spurs and had nearly 5,900 ERs during the event.Snapchat experiments with sharing ad revenue with creators [Digiday]Snap’s programming team, which works alongside the Shows team under Snap’s head of original content Sean Mills, has been approaching creators about participating in the program, a Snap spokesperson said.YouTube introduces channel memberships, merchandise and premieres [TechCrunch]YouTube creators are gaining a number of new tools to generate revenue from their videos outside of traditional advertising, as well as those that will help them better engage their fans, according to news the video streaming site announced today at the VidCon conference in Anaheim, California. This includes the rollout of channel memberships, merchandising, marketing partnerships via FameBit and the launch of “Premieres,” which offers a middle ground between pre-recorded, edited video and live streaming.YouTube Taps Fashion Luminary Derek Blasberg To Oversee New Partnerships Division [Tubefilter]YouTube has hired veteran fashion journalist and author Derek Blasberg to oversee the launch of a new division dedicated to fashion and beauty partnerships. He will be based in New York and report to Kelly Merryman, YouTube’s vice president of content partnerships.Elisabeth Murdoch’s Vertical Networks shoots for TV, books [Digiday]In late August, Vertical Networks will air a show called “Phone Swap” on local Fox stations as part of a syndication test. On the half-hour show, two people go on a blind date, but are allowed to peruse each other’s private information on their phones before deciding if they want to go on a second date.Facebook launches high-end magazine 'Grow' [CNN]A new podcast series in partnership with Vanity Fair and Founders Forum will launch later this year, Facebook says.Oculus launches its first app focused on watching television [TechCrunch]At launch the platform will have core support for Facebook Watch (naturally) as well as Red Bull TV and Pluto TV . This isn’t exactly an all-star launch lineup for the service, which users navigate similarly to an Apple TV interface, but the company is teasing new partners going forward, specifically teasing one with sports network ESPN.Retailers are turning to commerce publishers for content, but the deals come with risks [Digiday]But content-focused deals risk eating into commerce-focused publishers’ own business. They have become valuable at driving sales because they rank high in search results, or they’ve become trusted sources of product information and recommendation.In Cannes, a marketer backlash to influencers is growing [Digiday]Dan Salzman, the global head of media at HP, said he agreed in principle with Weed. It’s also a shakeout that’s right on trend in a year where a reckoning seems to be the theme. Top marketers are pushing back on platform power, and questioning where their money is spent is en vogue as they look to wrest back control from platforms as well as agencies. Apple could bundle TV, music and news in a single subscription [TechCrunch]The Daily Beast pivots to paid with $100 membership program [Digiday]Hulu CEO Randy Freer on Company Reorg, Future of ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ [Variety]Kirsten Dunst-Led Dark Comedy From Producer George Clooney Scores Series Order at YouTube Premium [Variety]Viacom to produce Nickelodeon show for Netflix  [MarketWatch]Ad agencies see an uptick in business as direct-to-consumer brands expand beyond Facebook [Digiday]Meme Startup IMGN Media Raises $3 Million From UTA, KDC Media Fund, Others [Tubefilter]It’s Easy To Scam Your Way Into Free Hotel Stays By Pretending To Be An Instagram Star [BuzzFeed]Creator of Exclusive L.A. Influencer Mural Defends Stunt: "I Have No Shame" [THR]