Researching Change in the Creator Economy

Hosted by Instagram Research

Tuesday October 15, 12:30pm – 5pm EST

Instagram NYC, 770 Broadway, New York

Event Overview

The ‘Creator Economy’ is a term we use to describe a wide range of new independent artists, content producers, and entrepreneurs. These people are playing an increasingly important role in our economy and in the lives of consumers around the world.

From new indie musicians to the likes of Mr. Beast, creators and creator-led businesses are as diverse as they come, and are bringing new challenges and opportunities to the businesses trying to serve them. That includes social platforms, creator tooling, and much more.

So, what do researchers need to know about creators, and how is this space going to change over the coming years? Join us at Instagram’s east coast office to learn from seasoned researchers working across the companies that power the creator economy.

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Event Schedule

12:30pm – 1pm

Doors Open

1pm – 1:10pm

Welcome

Katie McLean
Head of Creators Research at Instagram

1:10pm – 1:40pm

Community Members as Creators

What happens when users love a product so much they generate an entire ‘creator’ ecosystem around it, from social media groups to podcasts to companion products and subscriptions? When users become the ‘creators’, how do we foster and support their experiences? How do we harness the power of user-creators? In this talk, Laura Rivera shares more about just this experience in the Peloton user community.

Laura Rivera
Head of User Research at Peloton Interactive

1:40pm – 2:10pm

Radical Codesign with Creators in Residence at YouTube

Jazza John (they/he) will talk about how at YouTube the horizontal Culture Lab team are creating deep, long term relationships with creators to ensure codesign can be integrated at all points of the product development process. Jazza will also show how the Creators in Residence Program focuses on deepening understand of historically underrepresented groups, making YouTube’s products more useful for them, and the wider userbase.

Jazza John,

User Experience Researcher at YouTube

2:10pm – 2:40pm

Identifying Changes in the Creator Market

Amy Garczynski
Sr. Staff User Experience Researcher at Instagram

2:40pm – 3:40pm

Break and Optional Breakout Sessions

3:40pm – 4:10pm

Dismantling Power Dynamics in Creator Research

Anytime you’re doing research with a creator, there’s going to be a power dynamic. This can create some major challenges in eliciting the feedback your team needs to grow and improve your product to meet future creator needs. In this talk, Amy from Etsy joins us to share her tactics for dismantling that power dynamic and building rapport that translates into powerful and honest feedback from creators.

Amy Wang
UX Research Manager at Etsy

4:10pm – 4:55pm

Researching Creators in
Virtual Worlds

Lauren Cheatham
Principal Quantitative Researcher at Roblox

Merve Azak
Sr. Research Manager, Reality Labs at Meta Horizon

Ben Carroll
Creator Research Lead at Instagram

4:55pm – 5pm

Wrap Up

8:00 am –
9:15 am

Coffee Hour

9:15 am –
9:30 am

Welcome and Host Introduction

Colette Kolenda
Independent Research Leader

9:30 am –
9:55 am

Moneyball UXR

In research, we’re often dealing with criticisms about sample sizes and confidence when it comes to qualitative research. However, if we take a Bayesian approach to our research, you can build a tremendous amount of confidence and certainty even in our findings from smaller sample sizes. In this talk, Joris leverages insights from his days building out the ‘Moneyball’ strategy as part of the Oakland Athletics baseball club to help researchers and their teams build confidence in their results.

Joris Drayer,
Staff UX Researcher, Equities Lead at Robinhood

9:55 am –
10:20 am

The Rise of the UX Research Scientist

As companies develop more advanced products and tackle novel problems, user research can be complemented by specialized domain expertise and a scientific approach. This provides a new opportunity for a UX role that has roots in academic research but is integrated within a product team. To fill this gap, we introduce the UX Research Scientist (UXRS) role that has been actively growing within Meta. As current UX Research Scientists with different research backgrounds, Madeline and Rose will highlight how a UXRS differs from other research roles, talk about the types of skills needed, and provide guidance for employers and researchers who may want to pursue this role.

Madeline Huberth,
UX Research Scientist at Meta

Rose Cooper,
UX Research Scientist at Meta

10:20 am –
10:45 am

Break

Sponsor Announcement

10:45 am –
11:10 am

Leading with Strategic Foresight

It can be challenging for UXRs to drive strategic decisions your organization needs to make. It always seems there’s never enough time to answer the big questions. But it can be done by spending just a few hours a week on the practice of strategic foresight. You can be the one facilitating key conversations, bringing the big insights, and helping set the direction of your team and company. In this talk, Sam walks us through incorporating strategic foresight into your every-day research practice.

Sam Ladner,
Author and Executive Director

11:10 am –
11:35 am

Researching Customer Journeys at Scale

We all know the importance of showing the right thing at the right time for users. But what if we could predict a user’s goal and adapt the experience in real time to meet their needs? In this talk, Jennifer will discuss how to level up your customer journey UX Research, so you can maximize your impact on the user and the business.

Jennifer Siedjak,
Director of UX Research at Tapestry

11:35 am –
12:00 pm

The Discipline of Hope: How to Not Lose Yourself in UXR

During this time together, Vivianne will explore the critical role of hope in UX Research against the backdrop of industry, personal, and societal hurdles and presents a framework for incorporating hope into research practices. This talk highlights how practitioners can foster hope and drive significant transformation by deeply understanding users, questioning current standards, and prioritizing a healthier relationship with self-care. Attendees can expect to leave this session with a rejuvenated dedication to weaving hope into their practice and with the tools to enhance their relationship with work, with others, and, above all, with themselves.

Vivianne Castillo,
Founder and CEO at HmntyCntrd

12:00 pm –
1:30 pm

LUNCH BREAK

Sponsor Announcement

1:30 pm –
1:55 pm

Putting AI to Work for UX Researchers

AI has impacted how we think about our jobs, our roles, and the future of our professional existence. But instead of living in the fear of being replaced, we have a unique opportunity to harness this evolving technology and leverage it to support, enhance, and accelerate the impact of human-centered research to a scale not possible before. In this talk, Christie will share how her research team at Autodesk customized AI models to do exactly just that.

Christie McAllister,
Director of Experience Research at Autodesk

1:55 pm –
2:20 pm

Insights to Income

User Research goes beyond enhancing experiences—it’s a powerful tool for boosting profitability and widening market share. This talk will show you how to link user insights with financial forecasts, revealing the tangible impact of product features on a company’s bottom line. Michael will draw from diverse case studies, ranging from streaming services to the aviation sector, to demonstrate practical strategies for leveraging User Research to achieve both standout user experiences and solid financial gains.

Michael Lombardo,
Independent Research Leader

2:20 pm –
2:45 pm

Efficiency Through Research Blueprints

In the face of mounting pressure to accomplish more with less, finding the next edge in productivity seems daunting. However, by adopting a bird’s-eye view of workflows and touchpoints, opportunities can be effectively mapped out. In this talk, Nicole will share her approach to gaining valuable strategies for identifying efficiency gaps, maximizing impact, and fostering team success.

Nicole Wright,
Director of Research at HoneyBook

2:45 pm –
3:10 pm

Break

3:10 pm –
3:35 pm

Make It Matter

Why does UX Research exist? In this talk, Marie will explore how to move beyond trying to do the perfect research to doing the most useful research for the situation. Learn how to land the “so what?” to make your insights actionable, deliver difficult findings in a constructive way, and more!

Marie Sbrocca,
UX Research Leader, Gemini at Google

3:35 pm –
4:00 pm

Bootstrapping Trust

The chaos of a low UX maturity organization or team often frustrates researchers who must establish a research practice. Trust in research accelerates when team members view each other as credible contributors. In this talk, Kristen will introduce a model to leverage strengths, outline tactics, and create a consensus-oriented research foundation.

Dr. Kristen Guth,
Senior User Researcher at Snowflake

4:00 pm –
6:00 pm

Happy Hour

11:00 am

Welcome and host introduction

Colette Kolenda
Independent Research Leader

About Instagram Research

Instagram’s mission is to inspire creativity that brings people together. Our company values are people first, simplicity, and craft.

At Instagram research, we advocate for people through high-quality, empathy-driven research to shape product experiences and business decisions. We have four key principles that drive everything we do: (1) Deeply understand people, (2) Ask the ‘why’ behind the ‘what’, (3) Uphold quality & rigor, and (4) Drive impact from insights.

Learn more about research at Meta.