eMarketer research analyst Mariel Soto Reyes and principal analysts at Insider Intelligence Mark Dolliver and Jeremy Goldman discuss the future of short-form video, HBO Max's release structure experiment, a new service to streamline streaming, how the pandemic affected computer usage, why Apple wants in on cars, what actually happens when you experience déjà vu, and more.

In recent months, both Instagram and Snapchat have made several changes to their products that are reminiscent of growing contender TikTok. Instagram launched its highly-anticipated feature Reels, which allows users to create short videos set to music, and Snapchat introduced a slew of new features, including adding music and a test for vertical navigation.

In our first forecast for TikTok usage in India—the short-form video app's largest overseas market—we estimate that its monthly user base grew 328.8% year over year to 79.0 million in 2019. We expect that figure to reach 124.9 million this year, up 58.1%.

In 2019, 94.5% of internet users in China will be social network users. That amounts to just 59.0% of the country’s population. This report covers the trends shaping the market, as well as our first-ever user forecast for the popular short-video platform Douyin and updated estimates for WeChat and Sina Weibo.

TikTok, the Chinese short-video app, is taking off in the US, India and elsewhere. It offers many unique marketing opportunities, such as the Hashtag Challenge, but marketers should take note of some risks.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver, junior analyst Blake Droesch and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss what it might be like to work from home forever, Hulu's new transactional ads, Google paying select publishers, America's diversity, switching brand loyalty, YouTube's short videos, an eerie fact about corn and more.

TikTok’s social commerce features are not as robust as Instagram's or Pinterest's, but the popular short-form video app has been slowly adding shopping ads while integrating creators along the way.

“Users are flocking to the platform because it’s easy to use, and its short-video format effectively captures and retains the interest of the audience—particularly those in the 18-to-24 cohort. Many social media influencers have leveraged this popularity to build larger audiences, further attracting users to the app.”.

The short-video app added 12 million unique visitors in March, up nearly 50% since January

But the vertical format, the tight integration with creators, and the youthful audience are all commonalities between Stories and short videos. What it means for marketers: Watch engagement trends closely when it comes to short videos and Stories.

Will Instagram users adopt TikTok-like short videos? All signs point to yes.

Create a short-video strategy, stat. We think TikTok will not end up being banned in the US. But even if we’re wrong, there are enough other venues for user-generated short videos that marketers now need to make this format a priority. Get comfortable with the ad opportunities. Ads on apps like TikTok are different from what marketers are used to on Facebook or Instagram.

The short-form video app TikTok has become immensely popular among a new generation of video creators and their fans, leading some to believe that it could eventually dethrone YouTube as the preeminent platform for up-and-coming video creators.

eMarketer forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom and vice president of content studio Paul Verna discuss the details of the new short-form video platform Quibi. They then talk about Australia suing Facebook, Amazon selling its cashierless technology to other retailers and Postmates new "non-contact" food delivery option.

As COVID-19 shut down most brick-and-mortar stores in China, many businesses integrated with short-form video platforms (as well as Alibaba’s live ecommerce channel Taobao Live, which lives under its C2C platform Taobao) to conduct live streaming commerce. Digital Video Time Spent.

And it also may simply be too little, too late; the other social platforms have already moved on from Stories to the next big trend in social content: TikTok-like short video. Embedded Tweets in Snapchat Stories.

The Chinese-owned short-form video app TikTok exploded onto the social media landscape worldwide in 2019, but roadblocks could keep it from rapidly expanding its user base in 2020.

No social app since Snapchat has succeeded in capturing significant usage in the US. But the Chinese-owned, short-video app TikTok is enjoying sudden growth in popularity. Can it buck the trend and challenge the existing social networks?

It’s now been more than a year since TikTok launched in the US, and in that short period, the Chinese-owned short-form video app has capitalized on the viral nature of its platform by partnering with a number of brands and slowly unveiling a slew of advertising capabilities.

In this year’s Key Digital Trends report, we identify what changes are coming to the digital media and technology landscape in 2020 and why they matter to marketers.

Social networks are no longer what they used to be. Case in point: The rise of short video-app TikTok in 2019 is a sure sign that what defines a social network will be very different in 2020.