The app Snapchat, although valued at US$ 10 billion after investment rounds, have not yet shown it true value, in terms of profitability. Yes, we know that many young people prefer to use it instead of social networks because of the ephemeral nature of their content, but there is no way to actually convert the use of the app in cash.
One solution would be to allow sending money to contacts and earn a percentage on top. But more is needed and the network initiates a plan - to say the least - audacious: turn the app into a hub for original content.
The idea aims to transform the "Our Story" feature into an on-demand content distribution platform and this is where, they say, will happen the introduction of ads in Snapchat. Early reports pointed to the inclusion of a news channel, where partners like The Verge, Daily Mail, News Corp. and other portals would provide reports and articles in the same way as the photos your contacts send to you: with a deadline, a timer, to view it.
Like that was not a curious enough way for content consumption (force the user to stop and read the news, or simply lose them), Snapchat also wants to introduce original content in the form of videos produced by their own newsroom, as well as other allies such as MTV, ESPN, CNN and Vice.
All content would support ads and so the Snapchat would pocket one quick buck each display. If this feature is to become popular, it will be an interesting way to prove that it's in fact worth ten billion as some say. The feature, which according to sources will be called Snapchat Discovery, was meant to be released by the end of 2014, but delays in the negotiations delayed its introduction, which is expected by the end of January.
The main question here is: will users join? The idea of a dynamic content hub, which does not store news and videos for a long period is interesting but still sounds strange. Perhaps the younger, who already embraced Snapchat, find it more interesting compared to a feed that does not accumulate thousands of articles and links to videos, but else just the latest topics for a quick and simple reading (of course they will last more than a few seconds, after all they are are not photos) . Of course, it will depend on how the presentation and the insertion of ads is done, but given the app format could not be very different from the original proposal: its contents are made to last only a bit, so the user feels the need to consume it before it disappears
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