TIME TO SNAP OUT OF IT
Photo app needs to rise from stock slump
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Active users and revenue are rising, but not enough for analysts, so shares will continue to sink. Here are a few things it could do to snap back: Be acquired by Google parent company Alphabet. Sadly, Snap rejected advances by the search technology giant, which floated a $30billion offer in 2016 — twice what the company’s market cap is today. Snap has learned the hard way that almost anything it does will be copycatted by Facebook and Instagram, and it needs a bigfoot on its side. The independent spirit of Snap and its openness to technological moonshots would provide an excellent cultural fit for Google. If Snap came crawling back to Google, a stock buyout would relegate it to a dent in a much larger Alphabet, meaning far less financial scrutiny. Not to mention that marrying the two brands would make Android a more formidable Apple opponent. Go smart. Snapchat’s news page is fun to read and well-designed. But it’s dominated by articles with headlines such as “I’m a Professional Cuddler — This is How Much I Get Paid” and “Can You Watch this Without Cringing?” If Snap were to deepen partnerships with publishers such as Vice — edgy, newsy liberals that reflect its target demographic — it would gain broader relevance and combat the perception that it’s becoming like Twitter, a mindless, dense popularity contest. It should partner with news magazines like Vox and Slate in order to become a destination for breaking news. Get searchable and algorithmic. Enough with the Snapcodes and the chronological feeds. Snapchat needs to get with the Facebook algorithmic program and start serving up content that is tailored to users — whether they like it or not. The failure to do so is a symptom of personality, namely that of the notoriously independent Snap CEO Evan Spiegel. It’s getting old. There’s no good way for Snapchat users to find people to follow, which is a huge turnoff for newbies. Facebook has now copied enough of Snapchat’s features that a reciprocation is long overdue. Make more hardware. Snapchat has proven that it has the vision and discipline to create solid hardware. Snap’s Spectacles are camerapowered glasses that basically do one thing — create and send video — but they do that one thing well. An interactive assistant, similar to Amazon’s Alexa, but with millennial sensibilities and of course a camera, would provide an engine for recurring revenue that might satisfy Wall Street. Making a play for the smart-home market would expand Snap’s mission. Speaking of which ... Have a better mission. The current mission statement is “Snap Inc. is a camera company,” followed by two sentences about reinventing the camera and having fun. It’s so puny compared to Facebook’s whole “bring the world closer together” gambit. Having a broader vision for the future that speaks to the needs and tastes of its younger audience could yield a slew of new ideas from inside and outside the company.