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  • Snapchat Reverts to Chronological Stories for Some of its Users

    Snapchat Reverts to Chronological Stories for Some of its Users

    It appears Snapchat made a few changes to its redesign when some users noticed their friend’s Stories reverting to the chronological order. The algorithmically sorted feed, similar to Facebook and Instagram, has frustrated the app’s most loyal users since its launch.

    The new tweak shows the most recent Stories in reverse order, making it easier to keep track of your friends’ recent activities and know what’s relevant now. It’s more logical to browse with the old system since users aren’t exactly interested in something that happened hours ago.

    Despite the clamor for it, chronological feed prioritizes users who post often and can put your friends’ posts out of sight. You’re more likely to miss their content unlike for feeds driven by algorithms. Under the algorithmic ranking redesign, people you often interact with will be placed at the top of the feed.

    Before Snapchat took its cue from other platforms, algorithmic sorting has helped Instagram and Twitter boost their growth. When Snapchat rolled out its algorithm-driven redesign in the Q4 2017, its revenues improved and daily user count increased to 187 million from 178 million. In its bid to gain more users, the interface was tweaked to improve the experience and made more personalized.

    Snapchat’s redesign included the Discover page. It contains your subscriptions to celebrities and brands, as well as Stories you might be interested in based on your app activity. Because of its separation from the Stories section, there’s less clutter on your chronological feed.

    The algorithmic approach made it easier for casual users of the app to connect with close friends and see more relevant content without wading through acquaintances. But with the classic chronological feed, Snapchat’s most loyal and engaged users get to be updated right away.

    It’s unclear whether the update is for testing, part of a full-scale change, or completely something else. As of writing, Snap hasn’t commented on the reported change.

    [Featured image via Pixabay]

  • Snapchat Is About to Get Ads

    Snapchat Is About to Get Ads

    Snapchat, the ephemeral messaging app that your teenager is absolutely obsessed with, is apparently worth $10 billion. At least that’s the valuation connected to the latest rumored round of funding – which could include money from the likes of Yahoo.

    $10 billion may sound like a lot (and it is a lot), and you wouldn’t be alone in your scoffing, but big names in the social arena seem to think it’s not that crazy of an idea. A couple of months ago, for instance, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo tweeted that Snapchat’s sky-high valuation was not absurd.

    “Snapchat at $10b not absurd. Crazy growth, clear monetization path, & one of the best social product thinkers out there,” he said.

    Now, it appears, the first step on that monetization path has been taken. According to Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, ads are a comin’.

    The Wall Street Journal reports Spiegel’s admission at a recent conference, where he said the company would debut advertising “soon”.

    “We’re cutting through a lot of the new technology stuff around ads to sort of the core of it, which I think has always been telling a story that leaves people with a new feeling,” Spiegel said. “They’re not fancy. You just look at it if you want to look at it, and you don’t if you don’t,” he said.

    So, the ads will be skippable. The “sponsored messages” will pop up inside Snapchat Stories – the app’s longer-form stream of messaging. More specifically, the “Our Story” element of Snapchat Stories where multiples users posts photos to streams surrounding events. Apparently, the ads won’t interfere basic snaps sent between two users. Yet.

    “Soon” is the only time frame Spiegel hinted – so be on the lookout. We knew this was coming, as Snapchat’s been discussing the concept with advertisers for a while now. Plus, at some point, Snapchat had to do something to earn that valuation, right?

    Image via Snapchat, Twitter