During Snap’s Investor Day event on Thursday, the company reiterated its dedication to augmented reality (AR), expressed efforts to enhance its direct-response advertising business, and revealed notable growth in its user base. Evan Spiegel, the CEO and co-founder, stated that Snapchat’s monthly active users have increased to 750 million from 600 million in April 2022, with 20% of them located in North America, equivalent to over 150 million users.

Google’s Q4 results fell short in nearly all areas, marking the start of a challenging era for the internet giant. Despite YoY growth of 1% to $76.05B, revenue was below the projected $76.5B. Advertising revenue saw a decline, with YouTube ad revenue at $7.96B instead of the expected $8.25B, a YoY drop of nearly $700M in Google Search revenue, and over $800M YoY decrease in Google Network revenue.

Senator Michael Bennet, a Democrat from Colorado, has urged Apple and Google to delete TikTok from their app stores over security issues. The Senator, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, sent a letter to the CEOs of Apple and Alphabet (Google’s parent company) stating that companies controlled by the Chinese Communist Party must not be allowed to accumulate data on Americans or control content consumed by nearly a third of the country’s population

As mentioned, OTT, or streaming TV, refers to any type of streaming media content delivered over the Internet. It includes subscription-based streaming services where consumers can access content on-demand without having to go through a traditional satellite or cable provider. Viewers can watch OTT content across a range of devices such as mobile phones, gaming consoles, and tablets

ChatGPT caused a buzz in December for its ease-of-use, uniqueness, and accuracy, attracting over one million users in just five days and continuing to gain popularity. However, the AI platform faces numerous challenges and limitations. One is the fear of AI, including ChatGPT, replacing a significant portion of the workforce, particularly for knowledgeable workers such as designers, copywriters, and programmers.