Snap Inc's IPO filing was made public overnight, revealing a variety of details surrounding Snapchat's operations. For one, we know that the firm hasn't made a profit in 2015 and 2016 (although it's quickly catching up), then there's the claim of 158 million daily active users. But what else do the documents tell us? Yes, Snapchat's prioritising iOS Many Android users have long held that Snapchat didn't pay enough attention to the Google platform -- something the company admitted in the filing. "The majority of our user engagement is on smartphones with iOS operating systems. As a result, although our products work with...
Snap Inc. filed a confidential initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Commission last year, leaving many to wonder about the details. But now, the house of Snapchat has raised the curtain on aspects of the deal. The IPO could value the company at up to US$25-billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. "Snap Inc. is a camera company. We believe that reinventing the camera represents our greatest opportunity to improve the way people live and communicate," read an excerpt of founder Evan Spiegel's letter in the filing. "Our products empower people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about...
Facebook has already implemented a rehashed version of Snapchat Stories on Instagram. But it hasn't yet bolted on the feature to its flaship app. Until now, that is. The social network has announced that Facebook Stories is now a thing on its Android and iOS app, and yes, it works almost exactly like Snapchat and Instagram Stories (pictured). Users can scroll through a horizontal list of Stories located at the top of the app's screen (just below the notifications and search bar). It's almost visually identical to Instagram Stories too, and will let users share ephemeral videos and snaps that will...
Snapchat is the latest social network to take a stand against fake news, clickbait and "sensitive content", according to a new report by the New York Times. The social network, which updated its guidelines Monday, now forbids companies enrolled to its Discover programme to post questionable content to their channels. This includes clickbait, "overtly sexualised" content, and profanity. The network's Discover programme currently houses channels from the likes of National Geographic, People, Yahoo! and MTV. Snapchat's new guidelines also guard against Discover channels from "including reports or links to outside websites that could be considered fake news". Ultimately, the changes are in a...
There are a few reasons why Snapchat is an absolute painful experience for many. For one, the app's actual user interaction elements like buttons and gestures are vague and confusing. And it doesn't end there. It's also extremely difficult to find content within the app itself. But this could be about to change. According to a TechCrunch report, Snapchat has unveiled a new universal search bar,that spans the top of each and every page on the app. This means that users -- even if they aren't too sure where they are within the app -- can search for friends, specific Stories...
A former Snapchat employee has claimed that the company lied about its user growth figures in a bid to boost its valuation. Anthony Pompliano filed a lawsuit (h/t: Yahoo) against Snapchat parent company Snap for wrongful termination, having lasted just three weeks at the company. Pompliano's legal representatives claim that the company was "falsely representing" user growth statistics to investors and trading partners, going so far as to call it an "institutional pandemic". The ex-employee says that he informed several key figures, including Drew Boller (Snapchat's vice-president of finance), Jill Hazelbaker (vice-president of communications) and Brian Theisen (director of business operations). "These efforts, which should...
Snapchat took one big step to becoming the next social media TV platform, with a penned deal between its owner Snap Inc, and media giant Turner. The global media corporation and the social internet company will now work together to bring "new brands to Snapchat's Discover platform, extending live coverage of Turner's premium sports events, and working with several Turner brands to develop Snapchat shows", Turner announced on its press site. The deal between Snap and Turner will cover content, content distribution and advertising, and will give Turner access to Snapchat's front page, or its Discover tab. Snapchat and Turner will produce...
If you haven't a clue what Snapchat Spectacles are, don't worry. We had a similar debate in the office whether to publish this piece on Gearburn or Memeburn. But luckily, the social outweighed the gadgetry. We also imagine that this is exactly what Snapchat (or its parent company, now known as Snap) wanted too. Debuting on 10 November 2016 (just in time for people to get over the US Elections), Snapchat Spectacles is the company's jovial answer to smart wearables like Google Glass and Microsoft HoloLens. But it's much simpler than those devices. In fact, these US$130 sunglasses do two things...
It's tough to think of another mobile platform that's enjoyed as much success in as short a time as Snapchat. The service has managed to successfully shed its early reputation as sexting platform number one. In the process, it's transformed into a service that prides itself on being a platform for authentic media-sharing. Who needs carefully shot, crystal clear DSLR snaps when spur-of-the-moment, blurry shots can feel more intimate? Who cares about smooth, 4K video clips when shaky footage happening right now feels more authentic? Or at least that's the thinking... As a result of the app's live nature, it's quickly become a social media icon alongside...
Kansas City Diaries is an exclusive article series by Natalie Pool as she goes undercover at VML's global agency headquarters in Kansas City, USA, to find out how organic search, Snapchat and other technologies are changing the advertising and marketing industry. Snapchat is not what you’d call a brand-friendly platform. In fact, it actively discourages brands from creating organic content and makes it purposefully difficult for users to find you (unless you’re Kylie Jenner, arguably the biggest brand on Snapchat right now). And without reporting metrics for organic content, it’s tricky (but not impossible) for agencies to prove its value...
We've already seen Instagram copy Snapchat by implementing Instagram Stories (a take on Snapchat Stories), while Line's developer released a Snapchat-like platform of its own. The next company to get on the ephemeral photo/video bandwagon? Well, it could be Apple... According to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, the Cupertino company is working on a video sharing and editing application for its iOS devices. Bloomberg adds that the new app will let users record video clips and add drawings and filters to them -- sound familiar? From here, they can either be sent to contacts or to your timeline on existing social media platforms. Apple's Snapchat clone will...
Snapchat is a social media monster. From its relatively humble beginnings in 2012, to its current almost-super massive status among millennials, the app is fast becoming a must-have for both casual consumers and determined marketing minds. But what can be said of Snapchat that hasn't been said already? Well, quite a lot actually, according to new numbers released by analytics company Go Fish Digital. Initially spotted by Inverse, the report sheds some light on Snapchat's rip-roaring journey past Twitter and its contemporaries to become one of the most important apps on a smartphone today. Snapchat is pretty damn big According to the numbers,...
Snapchat's latest update is decidedly, well, unlike Snapchat. The ephemeral messaging app, which has made a name for itself as such, today announced that its users can soon save snaps to their device. Dubbed Memories, Snapchat's calling the system "a personal collection of your favorite moments that lives below the Camera screen." It's effectively a reservoir into which users can save snaps and, more importantly, repost those same snaps to Snapchat. This update marks a huge change for the platform This update marks a huge change for the platform, which previously allowed users to only share live content to their ephemeral snap collection,...
While Snapchat is satisfying the West's need for self-centered video snippets, South Korea's rival app does much of the same. Developed by Line Messenger creator Naver, Snow is practically a clone of Snapchat, and allows users to post snippets of annoying videos and lace them with wacky filters. "Take videos with hilarious face effects and send them to your friends instantly. You can respond to snaps from friends with texts and animated GIFs as well. LIVE makes sharing your moments with friends easy, speedy and fun," explains the app's description on Google Play. Users can also add images and the like to...
Sure, Windows 10 is a fairly stable desktop OS that just happens to run on everything else -- phones, tablets, even elevators in some cases -- but it has a major lack-of-apps problem. According to a new tweet by the Spanish division of Lumia Support, it's about to get a little better for selfie-enthusiasts; a Snapchat app for Windows 10 is in the works. The Spanish tweet is in reply to a customer query regarding the lack of a Snapchat app on Windows 10, and suggests Microsoft is "already working with our friends to bring Snapchat as soon as possible." The...
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