Facebook Reportedly Building Snapchat Rival Called Slingshot (CNET)
After Facebook’s failed bid to acquire Snapchat, the social network has reportedly been busy on developing its own video and picture messaging app. Mark Zuckerberg is personally supervising development of an “ephemeral messaging” app called Slingshot, according to a Financial Times report (subscription required). The Verge Details are slim on the video-messaging app, but, like Snapchat, it’d take just a few clicks to share videos and pictures that would disappear after one view. In all likelihood, Slingshot will be a simple, standalone mobile app separate from the main Facebook app. Financial Times Facebook’s first attempt to take on Snapchat directly came in December 2012 with Poke, an app that copied its rival’s format of photos and videos that disappear up to 10 seconds after viewing. However, Poke failed to mimic Snapchat’s popularity, and Facebook removed it from the App Store this month. Chicago Tribune/Reuters Slingshot could be launched this month, the paper cited one source as saying, while noting that Facebook might ultimately decide not to proceed with the launch of the app. Business Insider Facebook tried (and failed) to buy Snapchat late last year for $3 billion, and this second attempt at a competitor app proves that the company is serious about having an ephemeral messaging app, potentially to help it boost its popularity with teen users.
Report: Mobile Will Account for Half of Social Advertising Revenue by 2017 (Street Fight)
Mobile is poised to account for a majority of spending on social media advertising in the U.S. by 2017, eclipsing spending on desktop a year later, according to report from BIA/Kelsey. The research firm estimates that spending on social advertising in the U.S. will nearly triple over …read more
Source: Social Times