Snapchat, the popular temporary social networking app that allows users to take pictures or videos to send to friends for a short period of time, is rolling out a new feature called Snapchat Stories, to let people share content that can be viewed an unlimited number of times for 24 hours.
Many users received a message from "teamsnapchat" on their app that played an extended commercial for the new feature. Snapchat Stories acts as a sort of "timeline" for all users. In fact, Snapchat's founder Evan Spiegel hinted at just that when he was discussing the brand's future on stage at a TechCrunch event in Sept.
The commercials for the new feature are a collaborative partnership between Snapchat and bands and musicians. They represent an effort on the part of the company to do more direct marketing, something it has had trouble with in the past.
In order to use stories, take a Snapchat photo or video and then tap the icon at the bottom that looks like a stack of pages with a star on it. This brings up a dialoog that asks if you'd like to "Add to Your Story," which describes what that means. You can also choose if you want to share your story with everyone on your friends list or your select friends, which is selected by default.
A timeline will act as the first step to becoming a revenue-earning business. TechCrunch points out that Twitter, Facebook and Instagram all allow users to contribute content to a feed of some sort. Brands can make an account and have a page for users to visit.
Users can now create stories that contain content sourced from multiple people that will open up the opportunity for the inclusion of brand content in shared timelines. It's also a fun way to provide more creative Snapchats for your friends to view.
