The ecommerce company said it has seen business registrations rise 55% since unveiling Up and Running at the beginning of April.

When the program debuted, eBay pledged up to $100 million in support for small businesses across North America, and it said sellers that are new to eBay will also receive a free basic store for three months, which includes everything they need to conduct business via the site, including discounted shipping supplies.

The company added that sellers will also receive free access to eBay’s educational webinars, one-on-one support and communication with experienced sellers on the platform who are willing to mentor them.

Along with the new video, eBay extended its fee waivers for sellers through July 31, offering 50,000 additional free fixed-price listings for store sellers per month and 200 additional free listings for non-store sellers per month.

eBay sellers can also opt to donate between 10% and 100% of a sale to organizations including Direct Relief, Feeding America and The Opportunity Fund, and eBay will match those donations up to a total of $1 million.

VIDEO CREDITS:

Client: eBay

Agency: Edelman

Executive creative director: Jeremy Bernstein

Creative director/copywriter: Sasha Blejec

Senior producer: Scott Goodfriend

Producer: Tanya Orr

Editor: Lindsey Houston

Sound mixer: Stephen Barnes

The social network began testing the Bitmoji clone feature in Australia last June, for use in comments on Messenger From Facebook and in News Feed, and it had been extended to New Zealand, as well.

Once users gain access to the feature, they can create their Avatars via the sticker tray in the comments section of News Feed posts or Messenger.

A Facebook spokesperson said, “We’re expanding Avatars across Europe, Canada and the U.S., and we are excited to give people in these countries a new way to express themselves and convey more of their identity on Facebook.”

They added, “We don’t usually share specific stats for adoption, but as we begin to roll it out more widely, we look forward to getting feedback from people using it in Europe so we can iterate on it and improve over time.”

The app has been in testing for the past 18 months in Southeast Asia and Latin America, with over 5 million installs in those areas, and Facebook said an iOS version will be released pending approval by Apple.

The social network began rolling out the Facebook Gaming tab last March.

The coronavirus pandemic and the social distancing restrictions that came with it spurred the app’s early release, just as it was behind Facebook Gaming’s similar sped-up release of its tournaments feature earlier this month.

Facebook said it opened up pre-registration last week to enable people to receive notifications when the app is available in their region, and over 100,000 users signed up.

However, the social network also appears to be taking aim at game-streaming leaders YouTube and Twitch with some of the app’s features.

Facebook said over 700 million people currently play games, watch gaming videos or participate in gaming groups on its platform.

The social network added that the stand-alone app is intended as a focused, gaming-only experience for people who want deeper access to Facebook Gaming content, with a feed that is personalized based on the types of streamers users watch, the games they play and gaming groups they belong to.

Facebook Gaming vice president Vivek Sharma told Seth Schiesel of The New York Times, “We don’t want to be the background window in a Chrome tab while someone is doing their homework or doing something else. With mobile, if you have the app open and you’re using the app, it’s in the foreground. You can’t do anything else on your mobile phone, and that is extremely powerful.”

The social network said the Facebook Gaming app is focused on three experiences.

The first is enabling people to watch gaming videos from their favorite streamers, and the apps lets them find those creators and discover new videos from esports and gaming publishers.

According to recent data from Streamlabs, streaming on Facebook Gaming is surging, but it still ranks third in total hours watched, behind YouTube and Twitch.

Sharma told Schiesel, “There are a lot of people who listen to music and say, ‘I can imagine myself being a musician.’ People are watching streams and they’re like, ‘I want to be a streamer,’ and with Go Live it’s literally just a few clicks and then live, you’re a streamer.”

The second experience is playing Instant Games anytime, anywhere, without having to download separate apps. The Instant Games platform is available via the flagship social network and its Portal video -calling devices.

And the third experience is encouraging people to connect via gaming groups, with the app highlight both those users already belong to and new ones to discover.

Facebook said the Facebook Gaming app’s Go Live features lets all users livestream games they are playing directly to Facebook via their phones, with no need for extra devices such as webcams and capture cards.

The social network added that the app was developed in dark mode, with a look and feel that gamers are used to.

Sharman said, “Our global streamer community has demanded a standalone Facebook Gaming app for a while, so we’re excited to finally launch it on Google Play. We are building homes for the many types of gaming communities on and off Facebook. The Facebook Gaming app is a prime example of gaming’s resurgence at Facebook over the last few years, and we’re just getting started.”

And Fidji Simo, head of the Facebook app, told Schiesel, “Investing in gaming in general has become a priority for us because we see gaming as a form of entertainment that really connects people. It’s entertainment that’s not just a form of passive consumption, but entertainment that is interactive and brings people together.”

He wrote, “As the world fights Covid-19 and countries develop plans to reopen their societies, it’s critical to have a clear understanding of how the disease is spreading. Better data can help governments determine where to send resources such as ventilators and personal protective equipment—and eventually which areas are safe to start opening up again.”

Zuckerberg addressed the challenges of obtaining accurate county-by-county data in the U.S., much less globally, saying that its community of billions of users enables it to help researchers and health authorities gain a clearer picture.

Earlier this month, users in the U.S. began seeing links atop their News Feeds to an optional, off-Facebook survey being conducted by Carnegie Mellon University Delphi Research Center, aimed at helping health researchers monitor and forecast the spread of Covid-19.

The survey asked respondents if they were experiencing symptoms associated with the coronavirus, such as fevers, coughing, shortness of breath or loss of smell.

The social network said at the time that CME Delphi Research would not share individual responses with Facebook, and Facebook would not share information about participants with the researchers.

Zuckerberg revealed that CME Delphi Research published its initial findings Monday, adding that the survey has been tallying roughly 1 million responses per week.

He wrote, “The results indicate, for example, that in some New York City suburbs, an estimated 2% to 3% of people are experiencing Covid-19-like symptoms. Using aggregate data from Carnegie Mellon’s results, Facebook produced its first report and new interactive maps, which we plan to update daily through this outbreak.”

When Facebook introduced the survey earlier this month, it also detailed three new types of interactive maps to help researchers learn more about the spread of the coronavirus.

Co-location maps help illustrate the probability that people in one area will come into contact with people in another area, helping disease modelers predict how the coronavirus might spread.

Movement range trends provide a regional-level look at whether people are staying near their homes or venturing elsewhere, enabling researchers to gauge the effectiveness of preventive measures.

And the social connectedness index paints a picture of friendships across states and countries, aiding predictions on the spread of the disease, as well as determinations of which areas were hit the hardest.

Zuckerberg wrote, “This is work that social networks are well-situated to do. By distributing surveys to large numbers of people whose identities we know, we can quickly generate enough signal to correct for biases and ensure sampling is done properly. We’re partnering with faculty from the University of Maryland to expand this survey globally, and the team at Carnegie Mellon is building an application-programming interface, or API, that will let researchers everywhere access the results. We’re hopeful that this will help governments and public health officials around the world who might not otherwise have this kind of precise data to make decisions in the weeks and months ahead.”

He concluded, ”I’ve always believed that helping people come together as a community will help us address our greatest challenges—not just by sharing our experiences and supporting each other in crises but also by working together at scale to solve problems. The world has faced pandemics before, but this time, we have a new superpower: the ability to gather and share data for good. If we use it responsibly, I’m optimistic that data can help the world respond to this health crisis and get us started on the road to recovery.”

The social network said that at one point Sunday night, 25 of the 30 trending topics were related to The Last Dance, and there have been over 1.6 million tweets related to the series during the past 24 hours.

The Last Dance chronicles the National Basketball Association’s Chicago Bulls during the 1997-98 season, which resulted in the last championship of the dynasty led by superstar Michael Jordan and head coach Phil Jackson.

Twitter said the most-tweeted-about moment during the night occurred at about 10:20 p.m. ET, when the subject of superstar Scottie Pippen being underpaid was addressed.

The most-tweeted-about people in The Last Dance were:

1. Jordan
2. Pippen
3. Jerry Krause, the Bulls’ general manager at the time

The most-retweeted tweets of the night were:

The weeklong event, daily at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET starting Tuesday (April 21), will feature in-application hashtag challenged and livestream events with creators, celebrities and surprise live musical performances.

TikTok is also rolling out two creative effects to help viewers get in the prom spirit. Actor John Krasinki demonstrated the Prom Portrait background here.

The Prom Week schedule follows:

• Tuesday, April 21, #PromDIY: Creator Sarah Hambley will help viewers create do-it-yourself prom looks worth remembering.
• Wednesday, April 22, #PromLook: Surprise creators will share beauty and fashion tips.
• Thursday, April 23, #PromPortrait: Bryant Eslava and Bonnie Rodriguez will demonstrate how to use TikTok’s new creative effect to create the best awkward Prom Portrait.
• Friday, April 24, #PromPlaylist: A surprise celebrity guest leads a dance tutorial.
• Saturday, April 25, #TikTokProm: Diplo will host a live DJ set, along with Dillon Francis and other surprise musical guest performances. Attendees can engage with DJs during performances and request specific songs.

The tournament is being powered by Alienware and State Farm, and in addition to celebrities, athletes from Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, the PGA and tennis will compete in games including FIFA, Fortnite, Forza Horizon 4 and Valorant.

Scheduled participants include Alex Bregman (Houston Astros), Christian McCaffrey (Carolina Panthers) and fitness influencer Jen Selter.

Facebook Gaming’s charity livestreaming tools will be enabled on every stream so that viewers can contribute to the Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund, which was created by the United Nations Foundation and the World Health Organization.

And the tournaments feature unveiled by Facebook Gaming earlier this month will be used on every livestream, enabling fans to track participants, brackets and standings.

Following Friday night’s debut, tournaments will occur every Thursday night.

The full list of participants in Friday night’s event follows:

• Influencers: Fatality, Avori Henderson, Selter
• MLB: Bregman, Lance McCullers
• NBA: Andre Drummond, JaVale McGee
• NFL: Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Jarvis Landry, McCaffrey
• PGA: Bryson DeChambeau
• World Wrestling Entertainment: Ron Killings (The Truth)

Note: These screenshots were captured in the Spotify application on iOS.

Step 1: When viewing a playlist, tap the three dots to the right of the song you wish to hide.

Step 2: Tap “Hide song.”

If you ever want to “unhide” the song later on, tap the three dots to the right of the song, and then tap the word “Hidden” to unhide it.

The company said the funds will support students, communities and teachers during school closures brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and provide resources to support: social and emotional well-being; distance teaching and learning; bridging the digital divide; and access to school meal benefits.

TikTok said in a blog post, “With school closures across the nation impacting students and teachers, millions of households have been navigating the emerging challenges the Covid-19 pandemic has presented. We understand the importance of continuing educational success for students who are physically away from the classroom, and we have been inspired to see students and teachers connecting over humor on TikTok.”

National PTA president Leslie Boggs added, “National PTA is grateful to be named as a beneficiary of TikTok’s Community Relief Fund. This donation will help us further support and advocate for families, schools and communities across the country and help them navigate the many challenges that have arisen from Covid-19.”

Brand spokesperson Busch Guy took to Instagram and Twitter to introduce the #BuschWeddingGift sweepstakes.

Couples with 2020 wedding plans that have been changed by Covid-19 can post photos of themselves to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, describing how they still plan to celebrate and including the hashtags #BuschWeddingGift and #Sweepstakes.

Entries will be accepted through May 1, and a total of 250 winners will be chosen to receive $300 prepaid debit cards to purchase Busch beer for up to one year, roughly equivalent to two 24-pack cases per month.

Friends of people whose 2020 wedding plans were ruined by the pandemic can get involved, as well, tagging those people and including the hashtags MyFriendsWedding and #Sweepstakes to be eligible for prizes from Busch.

Anheuser-Busch InBev vice president of value brands Daniel Blake said, “Wedding season is approaching, and we’ve seen many stories of couples having to adjust and cancel their plans. Busch still wanted to offer these couples a chance for a wedding gift and a reason to celebrate their love, regardless of our unprecedented situation. Last year, we were inspired by the incredible number of fans who were making Busch a part of their wedding day. And this year, we wanted to give couples across America something to celebrate until they can officially tie the knot.”