Facebook Vs Snapchat
Facebook is the ultimate powerhouse of social networking. It's used to being the top dog. But recently, in an effort to compete with rival Snapchat, Instagram (the Facebook-owned app) introduced "Instagram Stories" - an undeniable carbon-copy of Snapchat. Like Snapchat, you can post media which disappear after 24 hours, check who viewed your story, send direct replies, use filters, text captions and even draw with a multitude of colours.
But hold on, this isn't the first time Facebook has tried to plagiarise Snapchat, oh no! Starting from as early as 2012 - from getting inspired by their ideas to even trying to purchase the company.
The timeline:
Poke - December 2012
When Snapchat was just gaining popularity, Facebook saw the idea and launched Poke, an app for sending media which disappeared after 10 seconds and notified users about screenshots; just like Snapchat. Poke never took off though and was shut down in 2014.
Purchase Attempt - November 2013
Truth be told, this wasn't exactly an attempt to copy Snapchat. Rather it was FB's accelerated chase to overtake Snapchat. An offer of $3 billion was denied by Snapchat. Rightly so - the company and their little ghost is now worth a whooping $20 billion.
Slingshot - June 2014
Slingshot was yet another attempt to take down Snapchat. Except it had one annoying feature: you had to send a message first before you could view one. After just three months, Facebook removed the must-reply feature, and Slingshot became another sad copy of Snapchat which was eventually discarded.
Bolt - July 2014
Bolt was an app with disappearing messages. Sounds cool, right? But it was uncool because this special service was limited within a network of only 20 people. This failed, and was soon shut down.
Disappearing Posts - September 2014
Facebook experimented with the ability for people to set expiry dates on posts. This never went further than just an experiment.
Photo Editing - October 2015
Facebook introduced an in-app editor tool for photos, where users could stylise pictures the way they did in Snapchat, with filters, text, emoji and drawing in colour.
One-hour Messages - November 2015
Another experiment which never took off, the ability to send messages which disappeared after an hour.
MSQRD - March 2016
MSQRD is a face-filter app which makes animated filters in the shape of your face, like Snapchat's popular dog filter. Facebook acquired this app and this tells us we could soon see face-filters.
Scan-able Codes - April 2016
You've probably scanned someone's "Snapcode" to add them. Facebook copied this neat method to add people on Facebook Messenger. Complete with dots and dashes like Snapcodes.
Quick Updates - July 2016,
Yet another failed test. "Quick Updates" would disappear after 24 hours, but according to Facebook, they do not plan to carry on with this.
We also would like to mention the 'Instagram Stories' in August 2016. And if you thought this was the done, you're wrong. Soon, people in Canada and Brazil are going to get a certain prompt when they open up the app, to open up the camera and take a selfie, with filters, and post it on their profile. Facebook seems to have no problem following in Snapchat's footsteps. Product Manager Sachin Monga has admitted to their rivals success saying "...they've definitely done a really good job with it."
This rivalry has got us on the edge of our seats. It's always good to see good competition between competitors. We can't wait to see what happens next. Maybe Snapchat will even introduce a news feed? Imagine that!
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