The Pace Report: Volume 12

NYX Cosmetics has forged a partnership with TikTok to introduce a reality dating show on the platform, illustrating how traditional brands are leveraging the short-form social media giant to engage with audiences in fresh new ways. This whimsical series, titled “Blind To Brows” follows seven singles on a unique romantic journey where the catch is, they venture into the realm of affection without ever catching a glimpse of their partners' brows.

Adding a sprinkle of stardom to the mix, the series features reality stars including the cherished duo from "Love is Blind", Lauren and Cameron. By integrating reality dating with TikTok, NYX Cosmetics has carved out a new space where creators can collaborate with established brands to generate unique content and experiences.

A collaboration between Elon Musk's X (formerly known as Twitter) and Paris Hilton has begun to test livestream shopping, pushing X closer to becoming an "everything app" where users can watch livestreams, chat, and shop simultaneously. The deal is said to include a revenue-sharing agreement between X and Hilton’s 11:11 Media.

The live shopping feature allows X users to watch a live-streamed video, engage in chats, and shop simultaneously, enhancing the multi-tasking aspect of the platform​​. The event, scheduled for October 10th, showcased a variety of products from Hilton and ultimately highlighted the broader trend towards creator-driven, interactive shopping experiences. It's a step forward in promoting live commerce and fostering a realm of creator and brand collaborations on X, opening up new avenues for innovative content creation and monetization within the digital landscape​.

The nostalgia wave is riding high with the EPIK app, a creation of South Korea-based Snow Corporation. EPIK recently soared to the No. 1 spot on the U.S. App Store, fueled by its AI-generated 90s-inspired "yearbook" photo feature, letting users relive their high school days with a modern twist. Users upload a series of selfies, which EPIK transforms into throwback yearbook photos, complete with period-appropriate hairstyles and attire. The app has amassed over 92.3 million lifetime installs since its August 2021 debut, with 4.7 million downloads in the U.S. alone. Recently, it gained significant traction, particularly around September 19, further escalating 10 days later​​.

EPIK’s success is a display of how AI can be harnessed to craft engaging, personalized content, bridging past with present, and fostering a community of users united by a shared nostalgic experience. Moreover, the app has generated close to $7 million in consumer spending on iOS, indicating a profitable venture that merges creativity with technology, potentially inspiring similar innovations in the creator economy​ down the line.

In a pioneering endeavor to bridge the gap between artificial intelligence and social media, Meta Platforms recently launched a series of AI chatbots on Instagram, personalized with the likenesses of popular celebrities and influencers like MrBeast and Charli D’Amelio.

Unveiled at the Meta Connect 2023 event, this initiative marks Meta's thrust into blending AI with the burgeoning creator economy, opening up new realms of interaction and monetization on its platforms​.

These AI personas are not just static chat responders; they exhibit a semblance of the charisma and individuality associated with the celebrities, offering more than mere mechanical interactions.

The technology propelling these chatbots is Meta’s large language model (LLM) database, known as Llama 2, which forms the foundation for the conversational abilities of these virtual personalities.

The financial commitment from Meta towards this project is substantial with reports suggesting that some top-tier creators were offered as much as $5 million for merely six hours of studio time to lend their likeness for this initiative.