📷 Image Credit: Gadgets Now 👆By: Gadgets Now Bureau YouTube is making a new format that changes how hashtags are used on the app. Before, if you searched for a hashtag, YouTube would give you suggestions for videos containing the hashtag and content that the platform thought was similar or related. Now, when you search or click on a hashtag, you will see ONLY videos that have that hashtag, with the most popular videos at the top. YouTube states this is the first in hashtag management for the app. Another notable change that YouTube has made to its platform is the ability to stop or start instant playback. The new placement of the auto-play toggle will allow users to change the playback setting on their YouTube account. YouTube is working on creating a better experience daily, so stay tuned for more updates and features. Sources:Gadgets Now Written by: Sofia Christensen, Intern Edited by: Lisa Knight, COO & Mentor

📷 Image Credit: Forbes 👆By: Cathy Applefield Olson The music industry has changed A LOT in the past year! The cancellation of all live in-person concerts drove fan interaction and artists to rely on their online platforms 100%. Because of this, Instagram is stepping up to the plate and wants to help artists make money with a new tipping option, as well as artists being able to sell merchandise through the app. The hope is that this will allow artists to grow their audiences further and have another profit funnel for the artists to help with lost revenue. Through the past year, we have seen Instagram used by artists in many different ways. 6ix9ine live-streamed a rant on Instagram that got 2 million viewers, and Miley Cyrus has done interviews over Instagram live. While these interactions were pushed to the social media platform Instagram due to the pandemic, they aren't expecting these types of artist interactions to stop once we return to in-person life. With direct fan payments, Instagram has found a way to enhance and evolve artist interactions with their fans. Direct fan payments will be made through a feature called Badges. These Badges will allow users to get added special call-outs or benefits from the artist...just another way to show fan loyalty and build an audience! It's pretty cool! Sources:Forbes Written by: Sofia Christensen, Intern Edited by: Lisa Knight, COO & Mentor

📷 Image Credit: IGN 👆By: Adam Bankhurst Fortnite's newest collab is bringing the world of soccer to the battle royale game. Fortnite recently partnered with the soccer legend Pelé for their latest launch. They will bring soccer outfits from famous soccer clubs worldwide to Fortnite for players to wear virtually. This launch is set to take place on January 23rd, making club outfits and Pelé's Air Punch Emote available for all players. Lucky players get a chance to get the new drop early on January 20th with the Pelé Cup. How, you ask? Players who did well in the Cup could win the Kickoff Set of club outfits and Pelé's Air Punch Emote for free. The top players from the Pelé Cup can even win a custom-signed shirt. This drop is similar to Fortnite's last year with the NFL. The soccer drop, much as before, will include ten variants of male and female outfits that can be switched between the 23 big soccer club's logos participating. Some of the clubs included are Manchester City FC, Los Angeles FC, Juventus, and other big names in soccer. On top of everything else, there will be a soccer-inspired creative island Fortnite players can access with the new launch. All in all, this collaboration can be successful for all parties involved. Very cool putting soccer, one of the most popular sports worldwide, and gaming into one. Win-win! Sources:IGN Written by: Sofia Christensen, Intern Edited by: Lisa Knight, COO & Mentor

📷 Image Credit: The Verge 👆By: Julia Alexander TL;DR Without The Mandalorian, we all 'kind of' forgot about Disney Plus...but it's BACK! If you haven't looked at Disney Plus since the first season came out of The Mandalorian, you're not alone. After The Mandalorian came out last December, a flood of people contested Disney Plus for not having enough new content. Besides the kids who beg their parents to watch Frozen 10 gazillion times a day, the app disappointed GenZ and older generations. Math isn't opinion; statistics proved the drastic drop in viewership in January, shortly after the Mandalorian stopped airing. That's not to say that Disney Plus is struggling by any means, as they have grown beyond what anyone expected and have been doing well above their projections. However, they indeed had a couple of big jumps, the first being with the Mandalorian, followed by Hamilton debuting, and then again with Mulan. Disney, like the rest of us, was hurt by the pandemic. They needed to prepare for the massive spike in viewership that came with the pandemic. As their investors wanted more activity on the streaming service, Disney dealt with numerous delays in filming and producing more content due to the various social distancing restrictions. However, as we all have, they are persevering! With the second season of The Mandalorian, the Disney app will once again become relevant to the older GenZ population and Millennials and GenX. Now the question is, will they stay after the new series, and will Disney be able to produce more new content to keep their audience coming back? Sources:The Verge Written by: Sofia Christensen, Intern Edited by: Lisa Knight, COO & Mentor

📷 Image Credit: Social Media Today 👆By: Andrew Hutchinson TL;DR Snapchat just added 3D body scans as a new feature! This could lead to significant changes in online shopping and tech in general. 3D body scans are the newest app feature on Snapchat. With Halloween, Snapchat developed a new set of features based on its body-tracking technology. The new filer can move with the user as their body moves, matching the movements of the person's whole body in the frame. Snapchat's 3d body scans provided the user with digital characters and Halloween costumes as if they were wearing them. Snapchat says this is the first of its AR tool. The lenses work for both the front and the back camera. The new lenses track 18 joints on the human body to create 3D images and follow the person's movements in the frame. Snapchat was trying to give people a way to virtually dress up this year when there was, for many, a lack of reason to dress up, with social distancing guidelines preventing many events. We have already seen the new feature used as an advertisement on Snapchat with Tim Horton's Timbits costume. How is this important in the marketplace? This new feature will likely open up many new online marketing opportunities with the eCommerce experience. The possibilities are enormous with this new feature, even beyond Snapchat. With online shopping continuing to dominate, people want to see this feature used to try on clothes virtually. Keep an eye out for your favorite brands; it will be fascinating to see if this really can lead to trying on clothes virtually. Sources:Social Media Today Written by: Sofia Christensen, Intern Edited by: Lisa Knight, COO & Mentor