While TikTok fights a potential US ban in court, Snapchat is seizing the opportunity to attract creators. Here’s what Snap’s feature announcements and new partnership with Issa Rae’s company, Ensemble, could mean for creators from underrepresented backgrounds. Snap Partners With Issa Rae Snap has ramped up efforts to make Snapchat the go-to platform for creators. During its NewFronts presentation in May, Snap announced a collaboration with Issa Rae’s new company, Ensemble. This partnership aims to expand Snap’s 523 Program, which provides creators from underrepresented backgrounds with $10,000 per month, 1:1
Snap and Zoom’s mass layoffs have impacted workers in various roles across the company, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) teams at both tech companies. Snap’s Layoffs Snap, the maker of Snapchat and Bitmoji, has laid off around 500 employees this month. The layoffs were most often conducted over brief video calls. According to Business Insider, engineers, content moderation teams, and a small number of people doing trust and safety work were impacted. This included several people working on a team within HR that helped with internal employee analytics, including surveys
Uber has hired Snaps Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Oona King as their new Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. Meet Oona King Oona King is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) executive with over twenty years of experience. King has made her mark in several companies, including the Chief Diversity Officer at Channel 4 for over seven years, Global Director of Diverse Marketing at YouTube, and Director of Diversity Strategy at Google. She also became the second Black woman elected to the British Parliament in 1997 and was an advisor
Dai Time is the definition of #BlackGirlMagic. The 16-year-old content creator with her own content company has recently bagged her show on Snapchat, where she interviews well-known celebrities from Shaquille O’Neal to Jada Pinkett Smith. The Georgia-born entrepreneur discovered her passion for media and presenting at a very young age and followed in the footsteps of those before her to create her online entertainment platform, DT Entertainment, which highlights the impactful young people are doing worldwide. After being selected to join Snapchat’s accelerator program, Dai Time has turned her passion into profit
Snapchat has officially launched ‘The Black Creator Accelerator,’ a mentorship program to help emerging talent jumpstart their careers. The scheme which falls under Snapchat’s content-accelerator program, 523, will see the social networking app invest $3 million into emerging Black creators. In addition, participants will learn creative skills and knowledge to help them pursue successful careers. Snapchat’s announcement follows similar actions by other tech companies who have decided to help bridge the gap and create an industry that reflects the diversity within our communities. “The launch of this accelerator program is part of
At POCIT, we’re remaining optimistic that things will surely get better this year, and the main reason we believe that is because there is an abundance of amazing Black, Asian and Latinx trailblazers already making an undeniable impact across the globe – whether that’s as software engineers, 3D artists, venture capitalists or founders. While we’re still in the first few weeks of the year – I thought it would be good to do a round-up of our best and most inspiring interviews that I think you should definitely check out.
