A few recent discussions in Content Creators got us thinking about how communities can support the creators they follow. Lanah Tyra has been looking at subscription platforms like Patreon, while Dave wonders which social platforms are worth the commitment.

Both Lanah and Dave are creators - as we consider all members submitting to our rewards to be - and they pose an important question. It seems it's on YouTube's mind as well, with the video platform having just revealed its new Hype feature:

If a video's been out less than 7 days from a creator with under 500,000 subscribers, you can "hype" it – and go beyond liking and sharing. The more hype it gets, the higher it climbs on a new leaderboard with the top 100 hyped videos from the week.

What do you think of this new idea? Have you used any features like this to support creators? Are you subscribed to anyone on Patreon? Have you ever backed a Kickstarter, IndieGoGo or similar crowdfunding / crowdsourced platforms? Do you have any other ideas for new ways to support the creators you follow? Let us know in the comments!