Raptive

2025 was a record year for Raptive. • 6,300+ sites in the network • 1,000+ new sites added • 226M monthly unique users • #1 in trust among sales houses (Jounce Media, 2025) As the industry grapples with AI slop and declining trust, this growth signals strong demand for authentic, original, human-made content on the open internet. Proud of the creators building real businesses and the teams working to support them. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e4x9S_fy

Be honest. When was the last time creating felt fun or inspiring? In Episode 7 of Ctrl Alt Ask, food and lifestyle expert Laura Fuentes shares what it looks like to keep running a successful business when the joy that once fueled the work begins to fade. Josh Zimmerman, The Creator Coach joins the conversation to explain why burnout is so common among creators and all business owners. When you are responsible for the ideas, execution, operations, and finances, creativity often takes a back seat to survival. This episode reframes burnout as a signal, not a failure, and explores how creators and business owners can reconnect with their creative spark in a way that supports long-term sustainability. Episode 7 of Ctrl Alt Ask is out now. https://lnkd.in/eXVp7ZWa

2025 was a record year for Raptive. • 6,300+ sites in the network • 1,000+ new sites added • 226M monthly unique users • #1 in trust among sales houses (Jounce Media, 2025) As the industry grapples with AI slop and declining trust, this growth signals strong demand for authentic, original, human-made content on the open internet. Proud of the creators building real businesses and the teams working to support them. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e4x9S_fy

The conversation around AI’s impact on food creators shows no signs of slowing down. Tom Critchlow, EVP of Audience Growth at Raptive, is featured in The Guardian speaking on how Google’s AI Mode is impacting recipe creators. When AI summaries replace original work, it’s not an ad problem. It’s a discovery problem.Real recipes come from real people. Tested, tweaked, trusted. AI can remix content, but it can’t replace human experience. And more people are starting to notice. https://lnkd.in/eTRkRMCG

“Being everything to everyone is the fastest way to disappear.” In Episode 6 of Ctrl Alt Ask, top entertainment publicist Emily Robinson breaks down why clarity beats scale when it comes to building a brand that lasts. This episode covers: • Why audience definition is the foundation of every successful brand • How to differentiate in a crowded vertical • The role of emotional positioning in discoverability • What creators can learn from decades of entertainment marketing If you’ve been struggling to stand out in a crowded space, this episode reframes the question from “How do I reach more people?” to “Who am I actually trying to reach?” Episode 6 is live.  https://lnkd.in/enSkJ4iM

Bloomberg's reporting struck a nerve across the industry. Thanksgiving search results showed a surge of low-quality AI content, and it’s a preview of what the broader holiday season could look like. Creators and consumers are voicing the same concern: real content is being pushed aside. This moment matters for the future of the open internet and it’s a reminder that creators and media companies must actively defend their work to ensure authentic content remains at the center. https://lnkd.in/gnc8ZszM

Big tech continues harvesting creator content without consent or compensation to feed their AI tools, products and experiments, presenting a seismic threat to the integrity and sustainability of the open web. In a recent conversation with Net Influencer's David Adler, Marc McCollum emphasized the urgent need for creators to have protection and clarity as AI reshapes the digital ecosystem. Raptive introduced Terms of Content Use, a first-of-its-kind framework helping 6,000+ independent creators block unauthorized AI training through clear legal and technical protections. “Our mission is to create a healthier open internet, one where publishers and creators are well funded and empowered to deliver content of the highest quality and integrity.”  — Marc McCollum For more from Marc on why this matters, listen to Ctrl Alt Ask, Episode 5: Should creators fight back against AI crawlers? The open internet is evolving, and we are advocating to ensure creators remain at the center of it. https://lnkd.in/e7t5DchX

The internet is loud. Hollywood knows how to cut through the noise. For our first live episode of Ctrl Alt Ask, host Stephanie Woodin sits down with top entertainment executive Emily Robinson (Stranger Things, The Crown, Orange Is the New Black) to unpack how creators can borrow Hollywood’s publicity playbook. They talk brand strategy, positioning, campaign thinking, and why relationships are still your strongest growth channel. If you make content and want your work to actually stick with people, this one is for you. Episode live now! https://lnkd.in/enSkJ4iM

Raptive ranked #1 in trust among all sales houses in Jounce Media's highly anticipated 2025 Sentiment Report, leading by more than 20 points. The bigger takeaway is clear. Advertisers are directing their spending to partners who demonstrate reliability and clarity, and this shift is altering how the open internet operates. Key signals in this year’s data:  • High-confidence partners receive a disproportionate share of DSP investment  • The 100 bellwether portfolios now capture 70% of total spend, and Raptive is included in that group  • Increased transparency is speeding up supply-path simplification across the ecosystem A major shift for the open web and a data point publishers cannot afford to ignore.

Thanksgiving PSA: AI can't cook your turkey. It can never replace real, tested expertise. As holiday cooking ramps up, it is more important than ever to rely on proven, human-tested recipes. Your loved ones deserve experience, not AI-generated guesswork. Bloomberg recently dug into the rise of “recipe slop” and interviewed more than 20 creators including several Raptive partners to understand how low-quality AI content is affecting home cooks. Their insights highlight why creator-made content matters this week and every week. Huge thanks to Davey Alba and Carmen Arroyo Nieto for bringing attention to this issue and championing the people who develop, test, and stand behind their work. This week, choose content you can trust. Choose real. Choose creator-made. https://lnkd.in/e27MYztn