Facebook copies Snap, again

File image

File image

Published Mar 29, 2017

Share

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."

BLOOMBERG

Related Topics: