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Snap Jumps in Debut After App Maker Raises $3.4B in IPO

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Re: Snap Jumps in Debut After App Maker Raises $3.4B in IPO

#121

Post by got2surf »

untog wrote: post #67
jonknee wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No disrespect to Spectacles, but camera glasses have been around for years. It's not AR and it's not yet even material to Snap's business (according to Snap!).

Right, but this goes back to the arguments everyone had about the iPod - MP3 players had been around for years, the iPod nailed the execution (eventually - the first version was not a success). Nor was it material to Apple's success, at the time. The point is that proven execution is a good thing, because it implies you'll do it again.

Great point. I know it's not the best comparison feature-wise, but look at the public reaction to Google Glass vs Snap Spectacles. Snap understands how to make the product sexy, not just tech-sexy. Snap understands how to make their innovation fit into the lifestyle of their users.

Anecdotally, it's been interesting to see GoPro take off over the years, spreading from "extreme sports pros" at the beginning to include more casual/recreational uses now. A lot of friends who wouldn't have considered buying a GoPro 5 years ago (because "they don't do anything exciting/dangerous enough to need it") are now considering GoPros to document the slightly more exciting parts of life. These same friends are even more strongly considering Spectacles, because Snap made a product that fits into their lifestyle (lowering the barrier of what is "interesting enough" to capture)

Re: Snap Jumps in Debut After App Maker Raises $3.4B in IPO

#122

Post by ehsankia »

missing8 wrote: post #72
InternetUser wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my job and lifestyle have caused me to detach from a significant chunk of society Yeah, the 13-21-year-old chunk of society. Do you, as a Linux Kernel Developer, happen to be within that demographic? Even their IPO roadshow video (which I see has now been removed) talks about their "13-34-year-old" user base, and then emphasizes the far higher levels of engagement and far higher potential among the lower half of th…

Sure the bulk of their users are young, but several of the people I follow are betweeen 28 and 45. It's not like Snapchat is an esoteric thing. Using it can be a function of how outgoing and expressive you are. Or if you have some purpose. The same reason you post on Hacker News is why people post on Snapchat -- to interact with others.

But do you think their actual sources of revenue (all the ads and paid stories) are focused towards older people? From what I've seen, it's mostly gossip and stories aimed towards younger people.

Re: Snap Jumps in Debut After App Maker Raises $3.4B in IPO

#123

Post by jonknee »

got2surf wrote: post #121
untog wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, but this goes back to the arguments everyone had about the iPod - MP3 players had been around for years, the iPod nailed the execution (eventually - the first version was not a success). Nor was it material to Apple's success, at the time. The point is that proven execution is a good thing, because it implies you'll do it again.

Great point. I know it's not the best comparison feature-wise, but look at the public reaction to Google Glass vs Snap Spectacles. Snap understands how to make the product sexy, not just tech-sexy. Snap understands how to make their innovation fit into the lifestyle of their users. Anecdotally, it's been interesting to see GoPro take off over the years, spreading from "extreme sports pros" at the beginning to include…

That might not be the best comparison... GoPro is fighting for life and if it's not acquired by Snap it may not be long for this world.

Re: Snap Jumps in Debut After App Maker Raises $3.4B in IPO

#124

Post by elsewhen »

jotux wrote: post #71
elsewhen wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the fact that you havent used snap doesnt really speak to their valuation. here are some large cap (+$200B) U.S. companies that i have never used: jpmorgan chase, wells fargo, at&t, bank of america, pfizer, verizon.

>here are some large cap (+$200B) U.S. companies that i have never used: jpmorgan chase, wells fargo, at&t, bank of america, pfizer, verizon. But you probably have used those companies without knowing. You've probably traveled through an area with cell towers owned and operated by att and verizon. You've maybe received financing on a purchases or had financial services through a smaller bank in some way aided by chas…

is it fair to say that when you are in a public place, you are regularly a few feet away from someone engaged with snapchat?

i concede your point about pfizer, and i also recall that i had a bofa account in college, but i think the point still stands.

Re: Snap Jumps in Debut After App Maker Raises $3.4B in IPO

#125

Post by ehsankia »

Emc2fma wrote: post #35
sgwealti wrote: post #22

I'm a light snapchat user (send/receive ~100 snaps/week and post to my story every 3-4 days) and I have a question about its value as an advertising platform. I always skip the ads, and I don't know anyone else who uses snapchat who does't immediately skip the ads. When I do this, is it counted as an impression? I can't imagine advertisers would be happy to know that the ads can be skipped. Also I never use the Disco…

From what I remember, those ads make up a small % of their revenue. Most of it is sponsored content, discovery channels, etc.

I know people who look at the discover section daily and read through all those articles in there...

Re: Snap Jumps in Debut After App Maker Raises $3.4B in IPO

#126

Post by bduerst »

trjordan wrote: post #97
pm90 wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So now we know that there is atleast some appetite for shares with no controlling interest and no indication of paying out a dividend any time soon. A current market cap of 30 Billion is a pretty darn big accomplishment! This is really disturbing. I don't know if its an indicator of too much money in the market, or just the fact that the market itself has expanded so much. Why would investors be OK with losing powe…

For the same reason 50% of the US didn't vote in the last election. Or employees don't demand to view board decks. Most investors are buying as a way to make money off of continued success. They don't want to control the business or make decisions, and even if they did, they don't want to invest enough to make a dent in the normal 1-share-1-vote sort of model. They're looking the company and hooking their accounts to…

Why not just invest in corporate bonds then? At least then you're safer from bankruptcies.

Re: Snap Jumps in Debut After App Maker Raises $3.4B in IPO

#127

Post by pesfandiar »

cookiecaper wrote: post #118
linuxkerneldev wrote: post #34

This $27.8 billion dollar valuation tells me that somewhere along the line, my job and lifestyle have caused me to detach from a significant chunk of society. I've never used Snap or their platform. I don't even really know what the benefit of their service. I am curious if I'm in the minority or if there's lots of developers like me who aren't able to comprehend these valuations.

I started using Snapchat after they added their dynamic filters. My kids, aged 2-7, think it's hilarious to have their faces warped or overlaid with funny images. My wife and I mostly take videos of them giggling while their face has puppy ears and then send it to each other and/or their grandparents.

I've seen older people (30+) use it to share trivial moments of their lives to people who don't live with/near them. The barrier to sending a disposable short moment is a lot lower than having a video chat or sending a permanent video file, so there's definitely utility to it.

Re: Snap Jumps in Debut After App Maker Raises $3.4B in IPO

#128

Post by MegaButts »

komali2 wrote: post #112
moolcool wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I see Facebook as the email of this generation. It's not exciting, it doesn't change a whole lot, and virtually everybody has it. I think we're just seeing a lot of novelty, flash in the pan apps coming and going while Facebook maintains it's boring yet stable position.

Facebook is a better messaging platform than SMS, for me, because I have friends spread across the globe that I can contact with a simple internet connection.

I sometimes feel like nobody uses Google Hangouts anymore, which also integrates with SMS so you don't have to bother with multiple applications.

Re: Snap Jumps in Debut After App Maker Raises $3.4B in IPO

#129

Post by Inconel »

komali2 wrote: post #110
jmathai wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's worth noting that Twitter essentially lost to Facebook. Facebook's dominance pigeonholed and limited what Twitter could evolve to. And I'm not sure there's room for more than a couple social networks. I don't see who SnapChat will lose to besides themselves (i.e. monetization). IMO Facebook/Instagram isn't well positioned win today's 13-25 demographic. The point is, someone will win. And right now I'm no…

Depending on your definition of social media, and if we count Asia, Weibo, Wechat, and Line are major contenders.

You can add Snow to that list. From what I gather it's basically a Snapchat clone by the same company that owns Line. I've noticed my Korean friends here in LA use it all the time to communicate with friends in S. Korea.

Re: Snap Jumps in Debut After App Maker Raises $3.4B in IPO

#130

Post by bduerst »

maxerickson wrote: post #10
jonknee wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering it went smoothly it doesn't remind me of Facebook's IPO at all. Twitter should be all the evidence you need of how hard it is to succeed selling advertising to a big audience. Snap might crush it, but I would give them a few earnings reports before comparing them to anyone.

Facebook's market debut showed that Facebook did an excellent job controlling and pricing the IPO. Banks complaining -> Facebook and insiders won. This debut just shows that Snapchat wasn't in the driver's seat. Major holders are still mega wealthy though.

Precisely. Facebook came out on top with their IPO by gaining more cash than expected, the average Joe did not because they lost cash.
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