Scott Services: Facebook brings more Snapchat functionality into its mobile app

Tuesday, 28 March 2017

Facebook brings more Snapchat functionality into its mobile app

What’s better, Snapchat or Facebook? With today’s announcement about Facebook Stories and new camera effects, we’re not sure if there’s a difference between the two.

Effects galore

This week, iOS and Android Facebook users will be able to tap on the camera icon on the Facebook app to try the new in-app camera. In an Instagram/Snapchat/Google Hangouts-effects-like experience, the new Facebook camera features effects such as masks, frames and interactive filters that can be applied directly to the multimedia. They’ll also be leveraging effects from visual artists. Not to leave the brands behind, Facebook will also be partnering with brands to create special masks for upcoming movies (“Alien: Covenant,” “Despicable Me 3,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Power Rangers,” “Smurfs: The Lost Village” and “Wonder Woman”).

Facebook isn’t saying if these movie masks are part of a paid relationship, nor are they saying anything about ads or monetization in Facebook Stories just yet, but we suspect it’s on the horizon.

And then there come the Facebook Stories

Want to know what is happening in the lives of your friends? Check out Facebook Stories, which lets you share on top of your news feed a multitude of videos and photos, which will disappear after 24 hours. Like Instagram and Snapchat, a Story can be created by tapping on the “Your Story” icon in the Stories bar at the top of the News Feed.

Direct sharing

But Facebook isn’t stopping there. Like its multimedia sharing site and its biggest competitor, Facebook now has a way for users to share their photos and videos directly with a specified audience. Viewers can see the video once and then replay it or respond (in writing) to the video. After the conversation ends, the content disappears.

Just last month, we posted about a survey on the stickiness of Snapchat as a network. Now that these features are rolling out to over a billion Facebook users, does that change the game? Time will tell.