Manifesto
How attention flows on the web
As this article provides no verifiable data to support its claim I’m going to speculate wildly too: I don’t think Snapchat’s users will have any long-term interest in the new ‘Discover’ feature. It’s more brand marketing fantasyland stuff.
“There’s something about Snapchat that feels particularly intimate. Maybe it’s the… knowledge that the video you’re watching will disappear into the ether once it times out.”
I’m not sure how ‘intimacy’ equates with advertising effectiveness. Snapchat’s core feature is actually disadvantageous in the context of the web. Perhaps this awakens a nostalgic appeal in traditional advertising circles. Social platforms are generally ephemeral but at least there is the prospect of a link to a persistent item elsewhere on the web. In rare cases these become super-valuable as they accrue authority over time. The notion of creating content specifically for Snapchat’s users that simply vanishes will no doubt appeal to agencies but has very limited value. It’s a different thing entirely.