EXCLUSIVE: Snapchat Developing "Stories Everywhere” to Push Content Outside the App and Grow Users
Snapchat is developing a new product called “Stories Everywhere” with a goal of making Snapchat Stories available outside the app for the first time and kick-starting the app’s stagnant user growth, Cheddar has learned from a person familiar with the matter.
To lead the effort, Snapchat’s parent company, Snap Inc., has hired Rahul Chopra, the former Senior Vice President and Global Head of Video at News Corp, who recently was CEO of the media conglomerate’s social data agency Storyful.
While Stories Everywhere is still in the early stages of development, Chopra has the important task of figuring out how to finally distribute the app’s wealth of user-generated content on the web and elsewhere. The project could mean that Snapchat makes it easier to share videos on other platforms through a web player that also prompts people to sign up and download the app, the person familiar with the matter told Cheddar.
The move echoes Twitter’s 2011 decision to allow content publishers to embed tweets in articles and blog posts.
Snap has also contemplated allowing other apps to access its feeds of user-generated videos, which are curated by algorithms and Snap employees, for everything from breaking news events to sports games. Opening up its content to other apps could potentially give Snap a way to make money off content licensing at a time when the young company is under pressure from investors to grow revenue.
Additionally, Snap has restructured its expanding content division and added more key roles under the leadership of VP Nick Bell:
* Mike Su, the former Chief Product Officer at Latino-focused digital publisher Mitú, now oversees all of Snap’s content-related product development, including tools for media partners. “This will allow him to oversee the product changes needed to help our partners build sustainable businesses on Snapchat,” Bell said in an internal memo seen by Cheddar and sent to Snap employees last week.
* Snap’s Michael DiBenedetto will now lead the content team’s strategy and operations. In his memo to employees, Bell called the newly-created position “an extremely important role as we look to drive operational efficiency and deliver on our 2018 plan.”
* Former NowThis president Sean Mills will continue to oversee Snap’s original content efforts, including its rapidly growing list of exclusive shows from the likes of NBC and ESPN. In addition, Mills now oversees all programming for the redesigned Snapchat app’s Discover feed of video content, which is being slowly made available to users.
* Longtime Snap employee Josh Stone now leads all media company relations. Stone joined Snap in 2013 and helped lead the company’s initial rollout of the Discover page in 2015. He reports to Ben Schwerin, Snap’s VP of Partnerships.
In a separate memo sent to Snap employees and reviewed by Cheddar, Bell outlined his content team’s goals for 2018. They include: increase the overall output of content in the redesigned Discover feed, widen content distribution, and double-down on news. Snapchat’s previously announced redesign, which includes the new Discover feed of professional and user-generated videos, is still only active for a small percentage of users.
A Snap spokesperson declined to comment for this story.
Milton Ezrati, Chief Economist at Vested, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he breaks down the Federal Reserve's latest policy decision and discusses what he will be listening for most closely when Fed Chair Jerome Powell takes the podium.
Commercial real estate platform LEX made history with the first real estate IPO open to the public in the United States. CEO and co-founder Drew Sterrett joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to provide some background on his company and to discuss the ins and outs of taking a building public.
The EV market has risen up quickly and the country that leads the way is China. The country has seen company's like Xpeng emerge with their technological innovations as it tries to produce flying cars by 2024. Cheddar News was joined by Alexa St. John, Transportation Reporter at Insider to discuss all things EV market in China and if the United States can catch up.
As popular sustainable shoewear company AllBirds makes its public debut on the Nasdaq, trading on the ticker under "Bird" , Baron's Markets Reporter Karishma Vanjani breaks down the future of the company as it competes in alongside other sustainable companies with recent IPO's.
Cannabis is now the fifth most valuable crop in the United States behind corn, soybeans, hay, and wheat. Its $6.2 billion wholesale harvest value surpassed that of staples like cotton, rice, and peanuts, according to a new report from Leafly. Cheddar's Chloe Aiello spoke to Leafly CEO Yoko Miyashita about the report's findings.
As we move closer toward the end of 2021, many people have moved forward with their lives in an effort to put 2020 behind them. But it turns out, some people are still struggling with the pressures associated with a post-pandemic society. According to a new poll by the American Psychological Association, 32% of American adults are still stressed by the pandemic and it turns out, some of that may have to do with your job. Ted Guastello, chief strategy officer with AMFM Healthcare joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Citi and Getty Images are teaming up to create a new toolkit featuring diverse images. The goal is to offer marketers and companies the opportunity to feature authentic representation, culture, and identity in advertising. The 'Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Imagery Toolkit' will be available in multiple markets around the globe, including the United Kingdom, Singapore, Mexico, and Hong Kong. Tristen Norman, head of creative insights for the Americas at Getty Images to talk about the partnership.
Sustainable footwear and apparel company Allbirds made its public debut on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, and CFO Mike Bufano joined Cheddar's "Between Bells" to discuss the IPO and the company's $3.3 billion valuation. Bufano attributed its recent success to product offerings and expanded brick and mortar locations. "There's lower returns when people go to a store and then there's no outbound shipping when people go to a store as well. So, the stores are both great brand beacons, they're profitable in and of themselves, and they help the overall margin profile of the business," he said.
