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Thursday, December 1, 2016
[The New York Times]
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[The New York Times]
Thursday, December 1, 2016
[]
Doug Chayka
[Daily Report]
The executives at Snap, the parent company of the messaging app Snapchat, like to make a point of noting they do not run a Silicon Valley company.
But what exactly does that mean?
Letâs start with geography. Unlike nearly every other big social media service, Snapchat is not based in Silicon Valley or San Francisco. (To be clear, the city on the end of the peninsula is not part of Silicon Valley, despite lazy writing efforts that say otherwise.) Rather, Snapchat is in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Snapchatâs Southern California home means itâs a little closer to Hollywood. It also means itâs not as steeped in the Valleyâs notion that the computer algorithm always knows whatâs best.
As [Farhad Manjoo writes], Snapchat has quietly changed how people perceive social networks. Its users arenât as obsessed with going viral, amassing friends or putting on a show. Instead, theyâre sharing real moments and, incredibly, adding a human element to editing and news curation.
As Farhad notes, adults are generally missing this shift because of Snapchatâs young audience. But they shouldnât dismiss it.
With a public offering expected in the coming months, weâre learn more about how this company works and what its executives hope it can be in the coming years.
Amazon aside, not being in Silicon Valley â or San Francisco! â has rarely been a benefit to an American internet company. [Remember CMGI], the internet conglomerate in Massachusetts? Of course, you donât. Even the people who worked there probably donât.
And donât forget the attempt by Terry Semel, when he was the C.E.O. of Yahoo (thatâs several Yahoo C.E.O.s ago), to inject a little Hollywood pizazz into the long, long troubled internet company by opening a major office in Santa Monica, Calif. The [pizazz did not take hold].
The entire country will rejoice if another internet company can show that you donât have to be in the Bay Area to become an industry giant with staying power.
â Jim Kerstetter
Â
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[While We Werenât Looking, Snapchat Revolutionized Social Networks]
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Once known for its disappearing messages, Snap, the parent of Snapchat, has moved into news and, with Spectacles, consumer devices.
[If you can pull off the look, Snapchat Spectacles will help you capture video while remaining in the moment.] [Trying Snapâs Spectacles: Live With the Look, Enjoy the View]
By FARHAD MANJOO
Spectacles, the video-recording sunglasses released by the company behind Snapchat, are among the most compelling tech gadgets of recent years.
[Snapchatâs logo is instantly recognizable to its young fans.] [Snapchatâs Path to a Big Payday]
By KATIE BENNER
Snapchat started in 2011 as an app through which people could send messages that would disappear. Now it has many features and a large user base.
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