Snapchat is in for its biggest overhaul since inception as it aims to rediscover itself in the face of relentless competition and stagnating growth. Chief executive Evan Spiegel also said the planned rejig would be disruptive besides addressing some of the shortcomings to be experienced with social media apps such as the news feed on Facebook and Twitter.
Spiegel though refused to reveal what sort of changes are to be expected in the ‘new’ Snapchat, or when it is going to debut. However, unofficial sources said the new app will be launched on Dec. 4 given that that is the timeline the company informed to its employees.
Also, while the changes to be seen continues to remain a mystery, what is pretty much sure is that the app will still open to the camera. However, while the right side hosted the thread from friends and the left contains Stories section along with aggregate content, those will be merged and housed in the left side.
The right portion will henceforth be hosting content from its publishing partners like Daily Mail, NBC and so on while verified celebrities will be allowed to feature in Stories in this section.
This will let users keep their personal stuff away from the public ones while the celebrities will also have a means to directly connect with their fans.
In fact, the latter could also prove to be lucrative for all given Snapchat’s focus group comprising of the young adults. Celebrities too will be all too eager to promote themselves among the users.
Further, reports also suggest there could be some ideas taken from the Facebook news feed, which if true will make for an interesting proposition. That is because so far, it is Facebook that was seen blatantly copying many of Snapchat’s features, including its signature Stories theme.
That said, Facebook’s influence in the new Snapchat could just be nominal at best considering the size and focus of the latter. Facebook is an open-to-all sort of app that appeals to one and all. Snapchat, on the other hand, is focused on communication only among friends and has a bigger sway among the younger lot. Also unlike Facebook, Snapchat is primary camera focused.
