Matthew Chapman
May 20, 2014

Facebook developing 'Slingshot' video app to take on Snapchat

News of the development comes after Facebook’s acquisition of messaging service Whatsapp

Facebook developing 'Slingshot' video app to take on Snapchat
Facebook is reportedly developing a Snapchat rival that will take on the messaging service's new video-chat capabilities, after it unsuccessfully attempted to acquire the company with a $3bn (£1.8bn) bid.
 
The app is internally known as Slingshot and allows users to send short video messages with only a few taps of the screen to provide a "simple and speedy user interface", according to The Financial Times.
 
It is understood Slingshot will operate in a similar manner to TapTalk, in which users tap a friend’s profile picture to send a photo or short video, which can only be viewed once.
 
Mark Zuckerberg is said to be personally overseeing the development of the app as the company seeks to launch it as early as this month, after Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel previously criticised Facebook’s aggressive acquisition attempt.
 
Spiegel told Forbes that, during an approach by Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder laid out his plans for a new feature called Poke that would take on Snapchat, and implied "we’re going to crush you".
 
The FT believes Slingshot will stand alone from Facebook Messenger as the social network pursues a strategy of unbundling its various product features into standalone mobile services.
 
Plans for video chat within Slingshot emerge in the same month that Snapchat updated its app to include text messaging and video calling to support its core feature, which allows users to send photos that vanish soon after viewing.
 
News of the development of the app comes after Facebook’s acquisition of messaging service Whatsapp for $19bn (£11bn), which is in the process of developing voice-calling functionality. 
 
This article first appeared on www.marketingmagazine.co.uk
Source:
Campaign India

Related Articles

Just Published

19 hours ago

No internet, no problem: AI dials up Bharat

Centerfruit’s tongue-twisting Voice AI campaign proves rural India doesn’t need screens to engage—just smart tech with local soul.

20 hours ago

Magna forecasts a 7.7% increase in India’s adex for ...

With no elections or cricket highs, India’s INR 1371 billion adex proves that digital muscle, data depth, and media shifts are driving real momentum.

23 hours ago

WPP global comms boss Chris Wade steps down

Former Ogilvy UK CEO Michael Frohlich will replace Wade, who leaves the holding company after 13 years.

1 day ago

Cookies crumble, privacy prevails: Marketing’s new ...

The era of lazy personalisation is over. Epsilon senior vice president for analytics believes that marketers must now trade third-party tracking for first-party trust, clean data, and cultural transparency—or risk fading into irrelevance.