Snapchat back hands Facebook

Companies worth billions to almost obsolete in no time - you mean like our favorite Blockbuster, vis a vis Netflix? Haha. I still love that Blockbuster is dead.

EDIT: heyabbott beat me to it!

 

Let's see if I have this straight:

A company built a website that basically allows users to email selfies to each other, lewd or otherwise.

Said selfies are only visible for a few seconds and then disappear.

And this website is allegedly worth $3 billion?

What the fuck?

 

Dude, I know. It's fucking nuts.

 

My theory is that in 20 years or so, people will look back on this era and laugh, because by then, the realization will have dawned on everyone that these types of online services cannot turn the type of profit that justifies billion-dollar buys. People like this Snapchat guy will be looked at as fools for having turned down this once-in-a-lifetime mega-offer for something that is basically worthless as a commercial product. It's like he won the lottery but declined to accept the jackpot.

Social media tools can be great tools, but as soon as you try to commercialize them with ads, the majority of people leave. And even if you don't overwhelm the site with ads, people are so fickle and want to be seen on "The Next Big Thing" that once a site goes mainstream enough, people flee.

 

I don't think FB is too worried about not getting to snap up SnapChat...they are in the process of a massive upgrade to their Messenger app which will allow you to text people you are not FB friends with.

http://mashable.com/2013/11/13/facebook-messenger-app-available/

 

A valid point, but the question to ask is whether or not the Snapchat developers see their ultimate goal as making the most money possible as opposed to simply offering an alternative social media outlet even if it means they don't make that much money. Or to ask the question as to whether or not they feel the highest bidder really has the best offer simply because they offered the most money.

The question that really hasn't been answered yet is if somebody will come up with a social media outlet that people not only want to use, but want to stick around with and not simply move on to the next big thing. At this point, it doesn't look like there's one out there, but who knows what will happen next.

Regardless, if the Snapchat folks aren't interested in selling at this time, then the question becomes this: How much do these other folks pushing social media see Snapchat as a threat to them and how badly do they want to buy Snapchat so they can steer it in the direction the other folks think social media should go?

 

OK, FB is updating its less-than-successful Messenger app so it can connect with not only your FB friends but other people among your contacts who also have Messenger. I don't get it. What utility does this serve? Why is this better than just sending a text to one of my contacts?

Facebook seems to be heading down the AOL Highway to irrelevance.

 

I love that Blockbuster is dead too, but that didn't happen overnight...

My Space is the prime example. "It's the next big thing! Now it's a punchline..."

It makes you appreciate guys like Mark Cuban, who knew exactly when to sell.

So SnapChat is worth twice as much as You Tube was?

 

Social-media gurus of all kinds are showing themselves to be quite the one-trick ponies.

None of them show very much in the way of adaptation or critical thinking skills.

 

It may very well be true that their ultimate goal is something other than making a mint. But in five years, will anyone still be using Snapchat? Or will it be a fraction of what it is now? And then what? You're the CEO of an irrelevant social media company that once had a big spike in usage and popularity and was once valued in the billions, but is now a fraction of that. Good for you.

Every one of these new social media site creators seems to think that their site will be the one that sticks around forever and changes the way we communicate and if they stick with it, they can end up a true business tycoon. What I think they fail to realize is that the fickle nature of social media does not apply to individual sites failing their users and falling into irrelevance - it is that social media as an industry faces this problem, and thus none of these sites can monetize users to the degree that any of them should be worth billions.

If you're offered billions for a social media platform you've developed, my advice is to take it, get out, and use that money to get into an established industry or to create one of your own... or just buy an island and live the good life. But to turn down billions of dollars for something that seemingly cannot be turned into any sort of viable commercial product - that's like purposely shredding your winning Powerball ticket.

 

Nobody will use Snapchat in five years as the next big thing takes its place. They should strike while the iron is hot.

 

That's my reaction as well.