Valentine’s Day isn’t a holiday for everyone. For every schmaltzy couple holding hands across the table instead of eating in restaurants, there’s someone cursing how disastrously relatable Bridget Jones seems to have become.

Look. I’m not sure how Jawed Karim, Chad Hurley or Steve Chen feel about everyone’s favourite Hallmark date, but on February 14^th 2005 they were at least feeling unromantic enough to be registering domains.

That domain was YouTube.com, which is now 15 years old[1]. The Guardian spoke to five early adopters about the platform’s evolution – and the result is our Read of the Week.

Remember Klout? This semi-arbitrary measure of online influence before the world had influencers was probably the cause of a few playground arguments. However, maybe they were onto something. Online currency doesn’t have to be crypto[2]. Modern social capital is made up of reach, engagement and followers, and OneZero tell us all about it.

Speaking of influence, Mel Magazine explains how TikTok stars are launching FikFoks to help grow their audience – a trend akin to the Finstagrams we told you about last year[3]. To help us track all this, Vox explain the rise of gossip platforms dedicated to following online celebrities.

Elsewhere, Insider provides a helpful explainer to Reddit’s advice sections, where strangers seek out and provide tips on every topic imaginable. And The Verge comments on the state of the streaming wars – suggesting that Netflix are in a far healthier place than previously suggested.

READ OF THE WEEK: YouTube at 15: what happened to some of the platform’s biggest early stars?
[The Guardian]

Money, likes and memes are all the same thing
[OneZero]

With FikFoks, aka ‘Fake TikToks,’ influencers expand their empire
[Mel]

The gossip accounts telling you which TikTok star is dating which YouTuber
[Vox]

An insider’s guide to Reddit’s advice communities
[Insider]

The streaming wars are finally beginning, but it’s more of a polite quarrel than an all-out war
[The Verge]

[1] Maybe that explains the surly teenager vibes found in the comments section?
[2] Even if it’s equally unstable sometimes…?
[3] Apologies for the shameless humblebrag