bell here on cheddar news now after 11 years as a mobile app, Snapchat is headed
to the web today, snap is launching what the company is calling Snapchat for web.
Great name.
And the new interface is less about
disappearing messages and more about increasing connection.
Michelle.
Castillo got an early look ahead of today's launch and is here with more
so Michelle why is Snapchat heading to the web after all these years?
Well, there's a couple of reasons why we might see Snapchat heading to the web,
but the main reason is Snapchat first and foremost
keeps insisting that they are a camera first company.
So although we have totally thought of that as being mobile first,
it doesn't mean that there isn't a camera on your computer.
The second thing is as gen z, which is snapchats main demographic gets older,
they're going to work, they're using their laptops more and as a result,
Snapchat wants to be where audiences are.
So if it's easier to talk when you're on your laptop,
they want to be able to have those functionalities for that experience.
And finally,
one thing that Snapchat has always talked about
is increasing time spent on its platform.
This in turn increases the price of advertising.
So they've tried different features from including original series to adding
more news stories and you can think of this as a
way to add increased time because if we're chatting on using
their camera feature or their video calling on their platform.
You know,
we're gonna be spending more time than using
the more ephemeral parts of the platform,
which is mostly known for, you know,
taking quick snaps during the day to keep in
touch but not really having those longer term conversations.
So I think for these three reasons snap really thought that the
web experience might be a new cool bell and whistle to add,
especially as its user base is growing up
now. You tried it out. So what should we know about the new feature?
Well, the first thing that stood out to me was that it is a vertical video.
So I was really surprised when I opened my computer
to see that the camera was set up vertically.
Um that was because if you are on the mobile version it's going to be a vertical video.
So it's more seamless between both platforms.
Kind of takes a little getting used to when you're on your laptop.
But it's still pretty cool that you
can't really tell what interface someone's using,
whether they're on their phone or on their computer.
The second thing that I really liked about it was next to your screen,
you have the traditional snap chat, dialog boxes and chat function.
So I facetime with friends often.
And the idea really is that sometimes when I get a text in the middle of it,
I have to move out of facetime to continue that
conversation at least this is right next to it.
So you don't have to toggle between those two interfaces.
So I thought that was pretty cool.
The one thing that I would say is I was kinda thinking this might replace zoom
for younger generations but it really doesn't seem
like it's going for the zoo market.
You can't really schedule a call, you can't really you know,
send a link to join the call.
It's more of a communication, more catching up with friends tool.
So think of it as a little bit more casual,
I don't know if you're like me but I have
a couple friends and I'll just put facetime on and go
about my day and just have them on in the background
and we'll chat for a couple of hours that way.
This seems more akin to that in a formal setting, a video call.
So I can see how it can definitely increase more time.
And just remind people that Snapchat is a way to communicate.
And it could be,
especially for a generation that's used to using snap away
to create a new tool that they get used to
sharing their most important moments.
So this was released today for Snapchat Plus subscription users in the U S. U.
K and in Canada do you think It's enough to make people subscribe though?
You know,
Snapchat plus is a really interesting product that launched on
June 29 you pay a little bit of a fee,
it's 399 a month.
You get new features like this first before the rest of the market.
Um you're gonna get other additional bells and whistles as the platform goes
on but you will not be able to remove advertising as of now.
I don't know if Snapchat for web is that big game changer?
That would make me want to subscribe to Snapchat plus.
But I have to admit most of my friends aren't communicating on snap at this time.
Um We're more of either WhatsApp or text message or I message or even instagram D. M.
S.
So maybe for a younger generation that is used to growing up on snap
that uses that as still their main tool of communicating with their friends.
This web feature could be something cool but for the most part I don't
think it's going to be a game changer that will make people subscribe.
However adding more of these bells and whistles.
These first looks might be able to but I don't think this
is the game changer that will really boost up those subscriptions.
I have a question for you that I personally want answered it,
Snapchat. This new feature for the web is not available on Safari which is apples.
Uh Basic default
web browser. It is available on google chrome though.
Why do you think they made that decision?
I think it's they're still trying to figure out functionalities as this is actually
technically the beta launch and that's why
Snapchat Plus users are getting it initially.
I think they built it for the google chrome platform
because they are doing more of an international launch.
Um, as you mentioned the U. S. U. K.
And Canada there's gonna be more Snapchat plus users internationally that will
get it first before it goes to the even general U.
S. Public.
So google chrome just gives them a little
bit more flexibility with the international front.
I wouldn't be surprised if later on it does roll out to other browsers but
in my mind that's probably why they went with google Chrome
was thinking the same now snap reports earnings later this week.
So what can we expect?
So this is one to watch because it is the first
social media company that will be reporting earnings this time around.
And it usually gives you a bellwether on how advertising
will perform for the bigger giants which are next week.
And of course that's facebook and Google
and amazon who have a larger advertising budgets
dedicated to them in general. So the one thing we're definitely looking at is
what snap warned about was that they were
gonna have a slowdown in advertising because a lot
of brands are pulling back budgets due to an
upcoming recession is that actually going to happen.
And what does that mean for the company,
investors are also looking to see if they're going to scale
back on investing in growth products in the near future.
That's something that shows that you know, companies,
even big tech companies are tightening their budgets and then you
also want to keep an eye on that user base.
Now Snapchat is at about 497.3 million users, it's below Tiktok.
But ahead of companies like twitter,
I know a lot of budgets have been shifting from twitter to
companies like Snapchat and Tiktok because of a little bit of the
issues with advertising on twitter at this point.
But we definitely want to keep an eye to see
that Snapchat can continue that growth rate and anything else they
can give us on insights on what it means if
advertising does slow down for the future of our economy.
Yeah.
Also I'm trying to think that maybe this web
platform will give new real estate for bigger,
adds more enticing ads as well,
since it's gonna have a lot more screen to work with cheddar news,
Senior reporter Michelle Castillo, thank you so much for that report.