Snapchat CEO’s leaked memo on survival • Hacker News Board

Re: Snapchat CEO’s leaked memo on survival

#31

Post by wgx » Sun, Oct 07, 2018, 4:53 PM UTC

georgespencer wrote: post #6

Here's coverage without an insanely user hostile "WE ARE PART OF OATH YOUR PRIVACY IS IMPORTANT (BUT IT'S DIFFICULT TO FIND SETTINGS TO DISABLE COOKIES)" lightbox which cannot be dismissed: https://cheddar.com/videos/snap-ceo-evan-spiegel-company-mem...

Ublock Origin plus Cookiemonster list - I never see a cookie banner.

Re: Snapchat CEO’s leaked memo on survival

#32

Post by addicted » Sun, Oct 07, 2018, 4:54 PM UTC

Yhippa wrote: post #3

Why did they ignore Android usability and performance for so long? Also, I guess one of the cool things was the mystery meat UX but I wonder if that hurt them as they tried to garner broad appeal? Sometimes I see other people's Snaps and have no idea how they did certain things like effects, text, or interactive elements.

They explicitly focused on teens in rich countries with high end phones and high speed mobile connections. They wanted to target that “rich” niche.

Re: Snapchat CEO’s leaked memo on survival

#33

Post by askafriend » Sun, Oct 07, 2018, 4:56 PM UTC

iamleppert wrote: post #16

They had a working thing and then ruined it. I’m not sure how they managed to do that with a product change. Didn’t they have a way to release changes and measure impact before just forcing it on their entire user base? Once a company gets to this level, they need to recognize the role that luck played into their original product and design. They hit a resonance with people, and it was probably more luck and timing t…

I think you hit the nail on the head here. There were reports that came out from several sources that Evan ignored all feedback from product and design including hard numbers from early tests. There were apparently several groups internally that tried to stop the massive changes from dropping without adequate testing and iteration. Those groups were overridden by Evan in favor of "vision" and that apparent lack of discipline led to the situation they're in today.

If Evan can't show that he has the discipline to lead a company at this stage of it's life in the public market then the board should absolutely give him the boot in the next 24 months.

I think the narrative of "product visionary" has been spun a bit too hard by the tech media and it likely has gotten to his head.

He also took a $500mm bonus for successfully executing the IPO at a time when the company lost over $700mm in 2017. That's not a great look - but I digress.

Re: Snapchat CEO’s leaked memo on survival

#34

Post by anilshanbhag » Sun, Oct 07, 2018, 4:58 PM UTC

Lost in all this is an important distinction that Snapchat wanted to make: they wanted to separate friends from influencers / celebrities / media. It was a good change. Another important thing Snapchat does is it doesn't show likes / followers publicly - when the whole world is chasing these numbers Snapchat has taken stance against it. The general philosophy they follow makes me think this is short term pain and the company will do fine in the long run.

Re: Snapchat CEO’s leaked memo on survival

#35

Post by addicted » Sun, Oct 07, 2018, 4:59 PM UTC

throwaway901234 wrote: post #28

[flagged]

GOTV in apps was fairly common during the Obama years as well.

In a democracy there is only one correct side in the “get more people to vote” and “get less people to vote” argument.

The fact that some think getting more people to vote is a partisan endeavor says more about the anti democratic leanings of one side of the partisan divide than anything else.

(Edited)

Re: Snapchat CEO’s leaked memo on survival

#36

Post by radiantswirl » Sun, Oct 07, 2018, 5:01 PM UTC

It disgusts me how Spiegel uses the royal "We" throughout this memo to distract from the fact that he himself was the (sole?) driving force behind the terrible decisions he now regrets. Own your shit Spiegel, using the royal "we" to deflect blame from your own bad decisions does not show maturity, it shows the opposite.

Miranda Kerr is swiping through her Raya app looking for a dalliance on the side because "for some reason Evan just isn't giving her what she needs anymore" in 3...2...1......

Re: Snapchat CEO’s leaked memo on survival

#37

Post by gaius » Sun, Oct 07, 2018, 5:01 PM UTC

Snapchat is still bleeding money, losing $353 million last quarter.

I literally do not understand what they can be spending that much money on, can anyone clue me in? It can't be on infra and bandwidth.

Re: Snapchat CEO’s leaked memo on survival

#38

Post by Retra » Sun, Oct 07, 2018, 5:05 PM UTC

throwaway901234 wrote: post #28

[flagged]

What's next? Politicians informing people of their stances will now be seen as "influencing the outcome of elections"; an obviously unreasonable partisan tactic. If you tell someone what they should do -- or now even ask them to make their own decisions -- you're an enemy of democracy, I suppose. Funneling millions anonymously into super-PAC campaigns is ok, but telling people to vote... that's too much politics for a company.

Critical thinking also means analyzing your own biases, not just those of others.

Re: Snapchat CEO’s leaked memo on survival

#39

Post by rhizome » Sun, Oct 07, 2018, 5:05 PM UTC

15 pages? It's not a leak if it's meant to get out, and 15 pages means it was meant to get out.

Re: Snapchat CEO’s leaked memo on survival

#40

Post by Theodores » Sun, Oct 07, 2018, 5:13 PM UTC

pavlov wrote: post #21

”Adults, not teens. Messaging, not Stories. Developing markets, not the U.S.” So... Snap basically wants to be Facebook? Adults, messaging, developing world — Facebook is already enormously entrenched in the overlap of those markets thanks to Messenger and WhatsApp. FB has also shown the ability to clone Snap’s product innovations. I have a feeling 2019 is the year when Snap is acquired. The market cap is already bel…

The USP of Snapchat was that parents could not go through past messages as these would get deleted once read. So, if you had planned a night out on the town doing silly things you could still pretend to the parents that you would being having a sleep over at a best friend's house. Even if they went through the phone with a fine toothcomb the parents would not find evidence of plans for wrong-doing.

Facebook is not about regularly messaging your best friends, it is about messaging/stalking people you knew from school onwards up to now, including workmates, parents and other people you don't message important things to, such as plans for tonight.

Snap are pretending here that their 'besties' market isn't already consumed by WhatsApp!, which it is, so Facebook have already eaten their lunch there. They don't actually acknowledge their 'secret sauce' in this memo, which was the instantly deleting messages that appeal to teens.