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Three founders combined their backgrounds to launch an innovative technology platform that’s attracting the likes of Savannah and Bronny James.
Meta’s Horizon Worlds is expanding by helping its users make an income in the metaverse. The company has started testing two ways for creators to monetize being on its social VR platform, according to Adweek. On April 11, it was announced that a “handful” of creators would test the ability to craft and sell virtual items and effects. “The metaverse—by nature of its not being limited by physical space—will bring a new level of creativity and open up new opportunities for the next generation of creators and businesses to pursue their passions and create livelihoods,” Meta said via a blog post, according to Adweek. ” Creators and entrepreneurs will have more freedom to find a business model that works for them. So, we’re excited to take this step today and expand further on the $10 million Horizon Creators Fund we announced last October, which we’ve been using to provide resources to Horizon Worlds creators. We’ll continue to work with our creator community and test and learn.” As of...
Years ago, a space exploration documentary was watched by a young and curious mind. The experience proved to be life-changing and would instill purpose into Mary Spio, who would eventually become a space engineer. Her heart longed to one day walk on the moon and with the help of an Oculus headset, her dream came true. Now, Spio has become a huge contributor to the shift in innovation and technologies within the movie industry and beyond. She wants to imprint hope and purpose into the next generation of changemakers by making virtual reality accessible globally. “I always go back to this documentary that had me thinking about what if and then led to me creating industry-changing technologies today that have already impacted the lives of so many and multiple generations thereafter. I just want to make these technologies more accessible,” Spio said exclusively to AfroTech.
Snap Inc. is introducing its latest efforts to push diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to the forefront with the launch of 523, its first content accelerator program, according to information provided to AfroTech. The goal of 523 is to champion small, minority-owned content companies and creatives. The program counteracts those whose support and resources don’t match the massive influence they bring to the Snapchat community. Courtesy of 523 “The voices of underrepresented groups have long helped shape mainstream culture, yet these creative minds often don’t see the equitable benefits from their impact,” Starr Nathan, 523 Program Manager at Snap Inc., said in a statement. “If you want to make a real change, you have to embed equity in the business. That’s why we are designing tailored workshops, providing funding and helping participants build sustainable businesses.” The fuel behind Snap Inc.’s mission to help build minority-owned content companies and creators is Snapchat’s...
Have you ever watched a creator on Instagram whose Live is just as quality as cable television, if not even better? The tech giant’s “Creators” program now allows you to help chip in to pay what you believe their content deserves. Content creators and influencers can add livestreams as a stream of income thanks to the latest Instagram badges feature. Hypebeast reports that U.S.-based Instagram users over the age of 18 with over 10,000 followers will be able to get paid for their Live content. In October, the new feature started out in its testing stage. Now, the rollout has reached 50,000 users and will continue to expand. Followers can take their support of creators’ Instagram livestreams to a new level by purchasing badges in increments of $0.99, $1.99 and $4.99, according to the outlet. In gratitude for their support, badge owners will receive a thank you message in return, as well as their comments and questions will receive increased visibility for the duration of the Live....
Young Thug is proposing a one-of-a-kind challenge for creators to flex their creativity with some help from Adobe. According to Complex, the Atlanta rapper has formed a new partnership with the software company to create the Young Thug Jacket Print Challenge — a contest that invites creators to showcase what “punk” means to them using digital assets curated by Thug. Those assets will then become the foundation for a custom jacket design inspired by the rapper’s forthcoming album, “Punk.” “Creativity comes in many forms, but combine music, design, and fashion in the form of visionary artist Young Thug, and you’ve got magic,” Ann Lewnes — CMO and Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy & Development at Adobe — tells Complex. “Adobe’s thrilled to be partnering with creator extraordinaire Young Thug on a number of exciting creative projects around the launch of Punk.” This partnership isn’t the first time Adobe has extended an opportunity to creators and given them a chance to...
YouTube is broadening the horizon for creators. According to The Los Angeles Times, the social media platform has announced plans to open its very own theater in the Hollywood Park complex located in Inglewood, CA. The YouTube Theater is a 6,000-seat arena located next to the SoFi Stadium in Hollywood Park set to open in August 2021. The new installment solidifies its place in the live event space. Just outside of the theater, people can get a glimpse of exclusive content created by YouTube influencers thanks to a 13-foot-tall digital screen. Set to serve as its own attraction, the digital sign will not only include upcoming concert dates of talent that will perform at the theater along with videos directly from YouTube creators, but it was also designed to allow pedestrians to see their movement and images reflected as sort of a giant fun-house mirror. Despite the fact that the theater can accommodate 3,400 to 6,000 seats, its design was built around making it feel more intimate...
The NFT (non-fungible token) boom over the last few weeks has taken over the cryptocurrency game for artists around the world, and now Black women are leading the charge to elevate the space just for them. Photographers Lauren Washington and Diana Sinclair — both associated with digital database Black Women Photographers (BWP) — have been integral players in ushering more Black women into the NFT space through online discussions on Clubhouse, Twitter and an onboarding process onto cryptocurrency platform, Foundation. According to Sinclair, Washington — who also specializes in film, screenwriting and directing — was the first Black woman photographer to join the platform with intentions of innovating the space for artists and women who look just like her. “I knew about crypto and investing because a friend of mine (Darrian Aldridge, a Black digital asset investor) who runs The Crypto Clubhouse room,” she tells AfroTech. “So I was learning about what that all means and what blockchain...
YouTube has nabbed some big-name entertainers for its latest original programming slate. This week, the video giant announced both new and returning projects at its 10th-annual personalized digital experience, Brandcast Delivered — an event that highlights the magic of YouTube for top advertisers, brands, partners, press and platform creators. As part of its steady strategy, YouTube Originals is building projects around the personalities and crafts of the platform’s top creators in an effort to attract a larger audience, as told by YouTube chief business officer Robert Kyncl. “If you’re a creative person, you want to work with the place that has the greatest reach — that’s the ultimate satisfaction, greater than money,” Kyncl tells Variety in an interview. According to him, the creator economy is “here to stay — and it’s not just YouTube, the whole world has kind of validated it. It’s reshaping Hollywood and other industries around the world.” Among its new programming, YouTube...
Actress, writer, and producer Issa Rae has never been shy about amplifying Black and brown creatives — in fact, according to her, it’s “threaded in the fabric” of her being. So it was only right that she teamed up with a brand who’s company mission prioritizes the same principle. Today, Rae and LIFEWTR announced their new partnership to unveil the launch of Life Unseen — the water brand’s new platform and bottle collection that highlights the ongoing fight for fair representation within four main creative territories across the arts — fashion, film, music and visual arts. The new collaboration not only ties in Rae’s personal mission of always amplifying the unique work and perspectives of diverse creatives, it also works to address the systemic disparities and inequities that continue to plague the creative community — which starts with building a pipeline for storytelling that cultivates new opportunities for the next generation of creators. “It’s kind of a dream come true for me...
Musicians are another group of people who took a large hit during the pandemic, but SoundCloud is stepping up to help the creators on their platform in need. Variety reported that on Thursday, the online music streaming site announced a series of initiatives they plan to kick off to garner more attention for artists using the platform. SoundCloud described the plan as a $15 million investment to provide promotional support through their “artist accelerator program.” “As the coronavirus crisis has unfolded, we’ve seen a global outpouring of tracks on SoundCloud with a 50% surge in creators uploading in the past month alone,” CEO Kerry Trainor wrote in a statement on their website. “But behind this creative response, we know there continues to be financial loss and uncertainty for our creator community.” Programs within the plan include a new direct fan-support button for all artists, $5 million in free promotional support for all creators to drive more plays, a $10 million artist...
What do Rihanna and TikTok have in common? They both recognize the rise of trendsetters and are providing a space for them to express their creativity. TikTok is now the newest social media phenomenon to take over in 2020, quickly becoming the go-to platform for creators. Rihanna, being the innovator she is, has been known to stay ahead of the curve and in sync with new trends so it’s no surprise that her makeup brand has gotten ahold of TikTok. She’s now partnering with the visual social media platform to fulfill her vision to provide the “next wave of content creators” a setup to launch their new ideas in what is now the Fenty Beauty TikTok House. She recently unveiled the creative space in Los Angeles, which is completely decked out with video-ready natural lighting, mirrors, and a pool. “We are standing in the official first Fenty Beauty TikTok home,” Rihanna announced at the unveiling . “I just wanted to create a platform for the next wave of content creators. I think our...
Patreon helps content creators sell monthly content subscriptions to its fans. Currently, 2 million patrons are backing more than 100,000 of their favorite creators on the platform. Kit is a startup that launched with the idea to help people discover products worth getting while influencers are able to share their favorite products and earn revenue from the sales. With Patreon’s recent acquisition of Kit , monthly subscription packages will now be able to offer so much more in the way of merchandise, which will further encourage subscriptions at higher monthly tiers than before. With the acquisition, Kit, which has raised $2.5 million since it was founded, is able to continue its commitment to “connecting creators and fans and followers and to making it easier to reward creativity and expertise.” Patreon, which has a valuation of nearly $450 million, plans to build an open merchandise provider platform. Creators who are already using Kit will not lose their revenue streams during...