This month, from April 1 through April 28, SnapStream users ran 38,956 search queries. Below are some of the hottest search topics of the month.

Fauci, India, and Vaccines -  SnapStream users are still searching for COVID-related terms, as the pandemic enters a new phase. Dr. Fauci appeared in more than 440 searches in April, as new COVID guidance emerged and vaccine availability ramped up. Searches for India rose sharply in the second half of the month as the country faces a heavy surge and new variants.

George Floyd - various search terms focused on George Floyd, Minneapolis Police, and Derek Chauvin were prevalent this month as the Chauvin trial resulted in guilty verdicts on all counts. 

Oscars - searches for The Oscars/The Academy Awards topped more than 300. It was exciting to see The Oscars come back this year. An incredible list of winners. Thank yous to parents for procreating. And Glenn Close doing Da Butt. It was a weird, wild event.

Other big searches this month included:

• Georgia & Stacey Abrams - many searches focused on the new Georgia voting law and restrictions around providing water to voters waiting in line
  
  
• Matt Gaetz - the term Venmo was often attached to these searches
  
  
• DMX - Ruff Ryder's Anthem will always be our favorite
  
  
• Marijuana & weed - it was 4/20, after all
  
  
• Biden (both Joe and Hunter) - infrastructure was also a hot term as the President shared his $4 Trillion economic plan
  
  
• Amazon - related to the union vote in Alabama
  
  

We are excited to see what the next month of searches will bring. 

Video connects us. From lighthearted TikToks and Zoom happy hours to the sobering images from Black Lives Matter protests and the insurrection at the US Capitol, moments captured in video drive our conversations and shape our opinions.

The social isolation and turmoil of 2020 only reinforced the importance of meaningful connection and shared experiences. While we continue to be physically isolated from each other, journalism and technology have kept us current and engaged with the world around us. Reliable information has been crucial in the face of an ongoing global pandemic and tumultuous political climate.

However, bias and misinformation has called journalism’s ability to provide impartial, transparent information into question. With the very definition of truth up for debate, we saw a meaningful increase in video usage and viewership as people looked for ways to validate the news with their own eyes.

More Video Means More Video Clips

At SnapStream, we saw increases across all our usage metrics in 2020 - from video recording and search to clip production and social sharing. 

SnapStream customers created 25% more clips compared to the prior year, with a significant uptick in the months preceding the presidential election. News outlets, think tanks, and other media providers leveraged key moments to inform and persuade voters as they navigated a relentless influx of both facts and fiction.

SnapStream Clips Created 2020 v. 2019