Audio By Carbonatix
Snapchat invented the Stories format of sharing pictures and videos that disappear. Now the company is indicating, along with Facebook, that the future of social media looks more like TikTok.
In remarks to investors for its quarterly earnings report on Thursday, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel said that less time is being spent watching Stories from friends in the app, even though the company had hoped Stories engagement would pick up as pandemic lockdowns eased and people started leaving their houses more.
Instead, Snapchat users are increasingly flocking to watch videos on Spotlight, Snapchat’s TikTok rival for viewing viral videos posted by random creators, and its Discover section for premium shows.
“This is a continuation of the trend we have observed throughout the pandemic, and friend story posting and viewing per daily active user have not returned to pre-pandemic levels,” Spiegel said in his comments to investors.
“While we are hopeful our community will in time return to the friends story behaviours that we observed prior to the pandemic, we are focused on innovating on our content offerings to better serve our community today.”
While Snap hasn’t detailed exactly what the changes to its content section will look like yet, it’s easy to imagine the tab looking more like TikTok by opening to fullscreen videos from Spotlight creators, with the ability to dive deeper into longer Discover shows.
Spiegel highlighted that some Spotlight creators already have their own reoccurring shows in the app, supporting “our vision of Spotlight as a platform where audiences can discover new Creators, topics, and communities, and then engage with them more deeply on Discover.”
The CEO of Facebook parent company Meta, Mark Zuckerberg also identified TikTok as a formidable threat this week.
“People have a lot of choices for how they want to spend their time, and apps like TikTok are growing very quickly,” he said during Meta’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday.
Unlike Snap, which is still growing its user base and showing better-than-expected revenue growth, Meta disappointed investors with its earnings report this week, wiping out more than $200 billion of its market value in a day — beating the record it previously set in 2018.
So while Snap and Meta’s business performance is divulging, it’s notable that they both see TikTok as competition. Compelling new formats, whether it’s Stories or the TikTok video feed, have the potential to shift user attention quickly. Snap invented a format that’s now ubiquitous, but now it and Meta are playing catch up.
Latest Stories
-
NAGRAT urges gov’t to communicate early if September deadline cannot be met
12 minutes -
We trust government to meet September deadline on teachers’ promotions – NAGRAT
23 minutes -
“We dare not fail” – Gov’t promises to honour teachers’ promotion pay deal
30 minutes -
The GH¢19.8 billion mirage: Inside Ghana’s state enterprise turnaround
38 minutes -
Luv FM High School Debate: KNUST SHS and Osei Adutwum SHS set up thrilling final after dramatic semi-finals
45 minutes -
KNUST AI Coordinator urges structured adoption of AI in teacher education
58 minutes -
Nepal rescuers blast hillside in search of hydropower workers as families wait anxiously
1 hour -
Teachers who pass promotional exam to get January 2026 start date after gov’t resolves promotion dispute – Dr Apaak assures
1 hour -
NSMQ 2026: St. John’s School rally from slow start to book semi-final spot
1 hour -
Promotion pay row: Gov’t gives teachers September 2026 to complete salary adjustments
1 hour -
Financial irregularities plummet by 62.9% as state tightens fiscal controls
1 hour -
DVLA to expand mobile services to underserved communities in Ghana’s Eastern Corridor of the Northern Region
2 hours -
GUTA urges GPHA to act swiftly to end Tema Port congestion to avert rising business costs
2 hours -
Port congestion could undermine 24-hour economy policy – GUTA
2 hours -
NSA opens three-day window to resolve national service biodata mismatches
2 hours