Lecture Notes: The Greatest Scam in the Creator Economy

Introduction

• Recent viral video about a major scam involving Honey, a popular YouTube sponsor.
• Story surfaced by creator Megalag.
• Involves high-profile creators, including the speaker.

What is Honey?

• Free browser extension.
• Claims to find and apply the best coupon codes at checkout.
• Extremely popular with 17 million users on Chrome extension store.
• Known for being a major YouTube sponsor with an easy working relationship for creators.

Shady Practices by Honey

Affiliate Code Poaching

• Honey replaces creators' affiliate codes with its own during checkout.
• Honey collects affiliate revenue instead of the creators.
• Considered slimy and behind-the-scenes shady behavior.

Manipulation of Coupon Codes

• Honey convinces retailers to partner and allows them to control which coupon codes users see.
• Retailers can limit users to less beneficial coupon codes.
• This contradicts Honey's promise of finding the best deals, leading to it being labeled a scam.

Creators' Reaction

• Many creators, including the speaker, were unaware of these practices.
• Over 5,000 videos totaling nearly 8 billion views were sponsored by Honey.
• Creators like Austin Evans highlight the deceptive practices: paying upfront but stealing affiliate revenue.

Actions Taken

• Speaker removed Honey ads from past sponsored videos.
• Encourages uninstallation of Honey and warning others.
• Emphasizes being more skeptical and thorough in vetting potential sponsors.

Conclusion

• Lesson for creators to be extra cautious with sponsors.
• Importance of supporting trustworthy and genuine products.
• Acknowledgement to Megalag for revealing the scam.
• Call to action: uninstall Honey, be selective with sponsors.

• Speaker mentions future commitment to reliable brands like dbrand and Ridge.
• Emphasizes the need for awareness and caution moving forward.