Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Development
    • Development
    • Mobile

    Snapchat Adds Chat Messaging to Its Disappearing Features List

    By
    Michelle Maisto
    -
    May 3, 2014
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Snapchat, in keeping with the great tradition of social-networking applications, continues expanding its capabilities. The app that initially gave users the ability to share silly photos that would automatically be deleted, has expanded into chat. Those chats are, of course, also quickly deleted.

      Snapchat told users in a May 1 blog post that one lesson it learned early on is that “conversation feels better when it’s visual.” So each time a user launched Snapchat, it took them “straight to the camera.” It’s the quickest way, it said, “to capture and share a moment on your smartphone.”

      Still, the team continued, something was missing—”an important part of conversation: presence.” And with that, it introduced Chat—a feature that should pretty quickly step on the toes of rival socially inclined apps.

      “Swipe right on a friend’s name in your Snapchat inbox to start chatting,” it explained. “When you leave the chat screen, messages viewed by both you and your friend will be cleared—but [as with photos] either of you can always tap on screenshot to save anything you’d like to keep.”

      When a friend is “Here in your Chat,” the Snapchap alerts a user, who can press and hold the blue button to share live video.

      The Battle for Users

      Snapchat has an estimated 26 million users. While it’s coy about that figure, it did confirm back in September that users were sending 350 million messages, or “snaps,” a day, which was up from 200 million in June.

      Those figures were offered amid reports that Snapchat’s then 23-year-old founder, Evan Spiegel, had turned down a $3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook—which also integrated real-time chat capabilities into its app to get users engaging more often and for longer and has since purchased messaging app Whatsapp for $19 billion in cash and stock.

      According to reports, Spiegel turned down the offer because he wasn’t sure how he’d like working for Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, he liked living in Southern California (instead of Silicon Valley), and he believed Snapchat still had room to grow.

      Critics have pointed out that Snapchat could lose the attention of fickle, young users, and weren’t sure the company had a profitable business plan.

      In October, Snapchat added Stories, a feature that lets Snaps be seen for 24 hours. Brands from NPR to Taco Bell and the HBO show “Girls” have been experimenting with Stories and in some cases gaining traction.

      With Snapchat users now sharing 700 million “snaps” and 500 million Stories a day, according to Bloomberg, it’s hoped that its founders are getting closer to figuring out how to monetize that interest.

      Spiegel has said he believes users will pay for “value-added services,” though he hasn’t yet specified what those might be.

      Michelle Maisto
      Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×