Snap shares jumped Monday after Spotlight, a video feature similar to the kind popularised by rival TikTok, was unveiled by the photography-focused social-media site.
Snap stocks were 4.6 percent higher at $46.34 at the last check. They reached a 52-week high of $47 in trading on Monday.
The spotlight will display videos from users that like the posts seen on TikTok, are less of the day-in-the-life content that the site is known for, and more artistic.
In the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, and France, Spotlight is open. The Santa Monica, Calif., company plans to extend the function to more nations.
In embracing technology to equal that of its rivals in social media, Snap is not alone.
Snapchat says its algorithms will work to view the most engaging Snaps on a customized basis for each user.
To do so using a variety of variables, it would rate the Snaps in the news feed, such as how many other individuals considered a specific Snap fascinating, how long people spent watching it, whether it was preferred or shared with friends, and more. Negative variables would also be considered by the algorithms, such as whether a spectator missed watching the Snap quickly, for instance. Over time-based on their own experiences, interests, and favorites, the feed will become personalized to the individual consumer. This is a method similar to what TikTok is using for its “For You” feed.
The Spotlight feed itself is moderated, though. The company says that all Snaps appearing on the news feed must comply with the Community Guidelines of Snapchat, which forbid the distribution of false information (including conspiracy theories), misleading material, hate speech, explicit or profane content, bullying, abuse, violence, and other toxic content. Snaps must also meet the latest Spotlight Rules, Terms of Service, and Spotlight Terms of Snapchat.
Facebook (FB) – Get Report adopted the TikTok-popularized video editing feature called Reels, earlier this year. Previously, the quick-disappearing video format that made Snapchat famous was adopted by Facebook.
Last week with the debut of Twitter Fleets, which is close to Snapchat and Facebook/Instagram posts, Twitter announced one of the greatest improvements to date.
The Spotlight Guidelines define what kind of content is expected by Snapchat, the Snaps format, and other regulations. For instance, they state that the Snaps should be vertical videos up to 60 seconds long with sound. A #topic hashtag should also be used and Snapchat Artistic Resources such as Captions, Sounds, Lenses, or GIFs should be used, if necessary. For a 13+ audience, the Snaps must be suitable as well.
A new feature, designed for use in Spotlight, is Captions. A continuous shooting mode for longer snaps and the ability to trim specific snaps are also new.
