Bay Area woman makes a fortune with TikTok videos that mock the grimmest parts of her home state

A TikTok creator is making a sidesplitting pinch videos making nosy of nan grimmest parts of California.

Diana Regan (@citiesbydiana), a contented creator based successful Oakland, has amassed 130,000 followers and 6.2 cardinal by posting satirical videos mocking American cities, peculiarly those located successful nan Golden State.

By splicing together Google Earth imagery, individual footage, and AI-generated narration, Regan creates uncanny versions of California cities. 

After getting laid disconnected from her occupation arsenic an Account Executive successful nan SEO manufacture past year, she recovered measurement to move her imaginative outlet into a gross stream.

She told SFGATE that she makes astir $1,400 per month, not including her sponsored contented which generates betwixt $500 and $1,500 each.

'I decided to return that format and flip it connected its head,' she told DailyMail.com, adding that she writes and edits each of her ain content.

'It's mostly silly parodies of nan absurdity of municipality creation successful nan USA, successful peculiar really car-dependent galore cities are, and I often propulsion successful nosy facts astir absorbing and affirmative things astir nan places arsenic well.'

At first, her videos were not making her capable money to go a full-time contented creator, truthful she had to unrecorded of her savings to thief her get by.

'But erstwhile I was first monetized I only expected to make possibly $50-$100 a period max,' she told DailyMail.com. 'I decidedly don't make anyplace adjacent I did pinch my afloat clip job, but I've been capable to make ends meet pinch a operation of level advertisement revenue, immoderate instrumentality donations, merch sales, sponsorships, savings and doing various overseas jobs.'

Her occurrence has garnered nan attraction of politicians and authorities officials who person not only reshared her videos, but taken notes connected what they could do better. 

'Tired of being cucked by large transit? Does surviving successful a walkable metropolis support you emotion miserable? If you're an lipid piled pavement princess for illustration me, checkout San Jose, California,' she jeered successful 1 of her TikTok videos .

'Are environmentalists shaming you into buying an electrical car? Do you emotion Texas but still wanna get an abortion erstwhile successful awhile? Come substance your rocket successful Bakersfield, California,' she said successful another.

Regan doesn't conscionable mock AI-generated content; she embodies it. By cosplaying arsenic a 'typical American conservative,' she satirizes nan nation's infrastructure obsession.

Two of her Instagram reels, mocking 'true freedom' pinch Bay Area postulation jams, person collectively amassed astir 2 cardinal views. 

'I had nary thought truthful galore of these would resonate pinch anyone astatine all,' Regan told SFGATE. 'I conscionable started making contented for nosy connected nan side, and it's really taken off.'

These types of videos are what sewage her sponsored by Hedra, a website that helps group make videos utilizing AI. Even though she's offered dozens of ads, she said she turns down 90% of them because they either don't salary capable aliases would not resonate pinch her audience.

Also, these videos making nosy of really section politicians understand nationalist infrastructure person caught nan attraction of group pinch influence, specified arsenic Assembly personnel Alex Lee, who represents California's 24th District, and South Lake Tahoe City Council personnel Scott Robbins person shared her videos.

'Her pointed satire of our 'one much lane will hole postulation forever' car-centric improvement paradigm should beryllium a must-follow for anyone moving successful authorities and section authorities — particularly present successful California,' Robbins told SFGATE.

Robbins noted that Regan's satirical 'Lane Man' character, obsessed pinch solving postulation by adding much lanes, is alarmingly akin to real-world solutions.

Algorithms are perpetually changing, making video occurrence unpredictable, she said.

Creators are pressured to replicate viral hits, while platforms for illustration TikTok slash gross without explanation, and increasing attraction connected commercialized and inoffensive contented is plaguing contented creators' imaginative endeavors.

I'll beryllium honorable that portion DOES stifle my productivity a LOT,' Regan told DailyMail.com. 'On Instagram, I tin beautiful overmuch station thing I want and beryllium successful, but TikTok pinch each video it's for illustration starting from quadrate one. 

'Although connected TikTok erstwhile you deed a viral inclination of a format that works, nan algorithm incentivizes you to do that complete and complete again until group get tired of it. So I'm ever trying to find that equilibrium betwixt contented group cognize and person travel to expect while trying caller things.'

'They are pushing creators to go salespeople for products alternatively of authentically sharing their passion pinch viewers,' Regan said. 

'Luckily, I've been capable to dress up for a batch of this owed to nan unexpected occurrence I've seen connected Instagram lately, but it has not been easy.' 

These days, she makes astir $1,400 per period connected some Instagram and TikTok, and she does a operation of contented creation and overseas jobs to get by.

But she's still keeping busy, posting aggregate videos per week astir nan latest trending topics. Her extremity goal, she said, is to yet turn her integrated scope truthful overmuch truthful that she nary longer forced to create contented she knows nan algorithm will boost.

'The extremity is mostly conscionable to make group laughter and possibly deliberation astir nan absurdity of nan situation we unrecorded in,' Regan said, 'but besides research nan soul conflict a batch of america person — wherever we emotion our cars, we bask nan convenience, but we besides cognize nan measurement we scheme our cities is harmful successful nan agelong run.'