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That would be the case if Instagram/Facebook's only source of lock-in was a user's established friend connections. However, Instagram/Facebook also have extens
by eunoia 10y ago
That would be the case if Instagram/Facebook's only source of lock-in was a user's established friend connections. However, Instagram/Facebook also have extensive history of each user's actions and content.
This is valuable, and why Facebook creates retrospectives for its users (in the last year you posted X times... here's where you were 2 years ago... etc). Snapchat lacks this due to the very ephemeral nature of the service.
Edit: grammar
- josh2600 10y agoThis is an asset for their users, not a liability. If you were to try to compete with Snapchat on the basis of having history, you would fail.
- tqkxzugoaupvwqr 10y agoA product of similar nature to Snapchat (posts are deleted after n hours) could quickly grab all Snapchat users if Snapchat fatigue sets in and the other product looks new and shiny. All it takes for users is to download another app.
- Hasz 10y agoAll it takes is for users to download the app and convince all their friends too. That's the tricky part, and definitely the incumbent advantage. I'm not sure x hours is enough of a pain point (if it is at all) to get people to move.
- argonaut 10y agoThat is valuable for advertising. It is of marginal value for users. Being able to stalk someone's history is not the main use case for Facebook/Instagram. My point is that the same friend network effects that Facebook/IG emjoy are also enjoyed by Snapchat.