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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

#141

Post by ashark »

rubicon33 wrote: post #140
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.

You are not alone. I have been struck with amazement at the rise of apps like Snap, Twitter, and Instragram. They have captivated an entire generation, leaving me on the sideline. As a developer, I suppose I'm not the most social being on the planet, but it does concern me that I have become "detached" from everyone else. I spoke with an Uber driver the other day whos 14 year old son has 700,000 instragram followers…

Welcome to the future. The economy's mostly driven by incredibly invasive advertising, normalized spyware, and kids sending each other naked pics. It's far worse than any 80s film ever imagined.

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

#142

Post by OJFord »

MegaButts wrote: post #128
komali2 wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

But they don't bundle SMS and 'HoIP' any more, and aren't they killing it in favour of Duo & Allo? But with ~~poor~~ no marketing, and no web UI...

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

#144

Post by hindsightbias »

ashark wrote: post #136
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.

The two single guys in my circle of friends use it for the kinds of communication you wouldn't want to occur in the same app where your relatives are (say, Facebook/Whatsapp). One of them's outside the app's usual age demo but is definitely around them enough that it's a very valuable app for him (network effects—everyone at any given bar has it and you'll have much greater success connecting with them over Snapchat…

Not snap, but maybe applicable in the same domain - know a single 30 year old who has much more success on Instagram than Tinder.

He's handy with a camera, so lots of content, introspective comments, tripod pics of his profile while staring out at the sea or what not...

Every new follower brings him a couple more.

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

#145

Post by fjdlwlv »

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…

Glass cost 5x as much as Spectacles. It was trying to be way too much at once.

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

#147

Post by da02 »

jzymbaluk wrote: post #105
missing8 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It also depends on whether you have friends that use Snapchat. I'm 24 and a college senior, so within the right age group, but none of my friends use Snapchat. It's only fun if you have friends who use it.

What do you/they use on a regular basis?

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

#148

Post by askafriend »

Grue3 wrote: post #60
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…

>Yeah, the 13-21-year-old chunk of society MySpace had that one nailed, and look how that turned out for them. This is exactly the kind of demographic that is susceptible to fads and keeps leaving dead services in its wake.

The MySpace argument is tired and stale and not even that insightful. MySpace made several mistakes as a company that had nothing to do with their premise (connecting people, the same as Facebook). It just turned out that Facebook had better execution in the long run.

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

#149

Post by jasode »

bduerst wrote: post #126
trjordan wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Corporate bonds are not a slam dunk win over investing in dual class shares of an IPO.

What kind of corporate bonds specifically? Is it Super safe AAA rated?[1] Or high-yield (aka "junk bonds")?[2]

If an investor wants big returns like he's hoping for Snap's IPO, buying safe AAA bonds isn't going to match that. E.g. Microsoft's 10-year bond only pays 3.34%.[3] That low interest rate barely above Treasury bills is the "price you pay" for safety. If you want to take more risk with a "BB-" corporate bond from Frontier Communications[4], that will pay 11%. That still won't match the potential upside of high flying stocks and the investor has to factor in Frontier's increased potential for defaulting on that debt. (Frontier wouldn't have to pay 11% if all lenders were confident the company would pay it back.) It's not just the bankruptcies to worry about; lots of corporations default on their debts.[5][6]

It's perfectly rational for some investors to calculate a risk-vs-reward and conclude that investing in shares with reduced voting power is better putting money into low-grade corporate bonds.

[1] http://www.marketwatch.com/story/exxon-mobils-downgrade-leav...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-yield_debt

[3] https://www.ft.com/content/7d0a5618-e70d-11e6-967b-c88452263...

[4] http://quicktake.morningstar.com/stocknet/bonds.aspx?symbol=...

[5] http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-14/global-corporate-de...

[6] http://www.marketwatch.com/story/company-defaults-headed-for...

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

#150

Post by numbchuckskills »

jmathai wrote: post #70
godzillabrennus wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are definitely not alone. The Snap product has been geared toward younger people as Facebook once positioned itself. Investors are betting that once the product and audience mature there will be huge payouts like they saw with Facebook. There is a big risk here though. Twitter has crashed and burned when compared to Facebook.

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…

The challenge / risk that 13-25 range have zero spending power. Advertiser dollars are best spent targeting the users who are going to make the purchase.
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