To say that 2020 has been a creative whirlwind would be an understatement. The video content platform, TikTok, has announced that it wants to do its bit to help. The ‘Creator Fund’ is a $200 million project that will support ambitious creators and inspire people to enter creative careers.

News:

• No Likes for Facebook Pages ? The Pages section is having a makeover. Facebook wants the feature to have a cleaner layout and a smoother user experience. This means no more Likes!
• Make statements with masks ? Pinterest has kicked off a “Make a Statement Mask” challenge, highlighting a range of creators who’ve made unique masks, celebrating style and function.
• Google unleash creepy crawlies ?Want to go to a virtual zoo? The search engine giant has added a total of 23 insects to the growing collection of augmented reality search results.
• Join the listening party ?Social distancing means that live gigs are still on hold, but Spotify Premium users can still share the joys of music by listening in a Group Session.

Start-up news:

• Gardening in the kitchen ? Spending more time at home means there is more time to cook. Click & Grow has released an innovative indoor garden. The Smart Garden 3 allows consumers to grow fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables. Click here to learn more.

Insights:

• Recent data shows that 49% of Argentinian 18-24-year-olds use Instagram as a platform to keep up with the latest news.
• Google broken down the marco shifts in consumer behaviour during the UK lockdown into 5 areas. One area is called ‘How People Feel’.
• Twitter has shared new insights into key topic trends. The tweet volume for Juneteenth rose by 405% in 2020, compared to 2019.
• The video live streaming service, Twitch, accounted for 65% of the market share of streamed gaming hours in Q1 2020.