San Francisco - Facebook is making a dramatic change to
the social network's mobile application, letting people post pictures and
videos that disappear after 24 hours.
Dramatic, but unsurprising—it's the fourth time the
company has added such a feature to its apps.
And it's a tool that was invented by its smaller, newly
public competitor: Snap, whose Snapchat lets users annotate photos and
videos by adding text, drawings, masks and filters and then post them to their
"story" or send them to friends.
Facebook added the same capability in recent months to
its Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger mobile apps, seeking to capitalize on the
popularity of the format to keep people on its properties rather than toggling
over to Snap's network.
Yet Facebook doesn't shy away from the comparison—and is
calling the new version on its main application "Stories,"
too—just like Snapchat's version.
"This is something that Snapchat has really
pioneered," said Conor Hayes, a product manager at Facebook. "Stories
has become a format for people to share and consume immersive video and photo
across all social apps, and it really differs for them based on the network
they have or the way that they use a certain app.”
Snap used the same argument in its initial public
offering presentation to investors, saying that Instagram, for example, has a
different audience. Still, copycatting by Facebook has been cited by analysts
as a major threat to the smaller company, which saw slowing user growth in the
fourth quarter. Snap's stock slipped as much as 6 percent to $22.40 on the
news.
Facebook said it decided to spread stories across its
properties after seeing its success on Instagram, which launched the tool in
August and had 150 million people using it daily by January.
Read also: Snap shares plummet after debut
Hayes said as more people share photos and videos,
stories can encourage moments that might not make the cut for a Facebook news
feed post.
Early data from tests show that the new option is
unlikely to discourage regular activity on the news feed, he said. The company
won't add advertising until the feature becomes popular.
Snap hasn't publicly responded so far to Facebook's moves,
and didn't respond Tuesday to a request for comment. Brian White, an analyst at
Drexel Hamilton, said Snap still has an advantage.
"We believe Snap has a cachet with the millennial
crowd that will be difficult for other platforms to garner,'' White said.
"Facebook announcements are a strong endorsement of
Snap's innovative products and creative vision."