Snapchat's 'Spotlight' Is TikTok's 'For You': A $1 Million Per Day Worth Of Snaps

Social media networks are blatantly copying others' features. Because cannibalizing is somehow allowed in the industry, Snapchat is having a go.

Snapchat is an underdog if compared to Facebook or Instagram, all of which have copied its original features. TikTok as the youngest of them all, has also made Snapchat look like a yesteryear's product. But that doesn't mean that its aging popularity doesn't bite.

One of the ways, and more or less, is by copying one of TikTok's most popular feature: the 'For You' feed.

This feed is where TikTok lists videos that are picked up by its algorithms. It through this feed that TikTok can surface interesting and trending videos, tailored to users, without having the users to follow anyone in particular,

With 'Spotlight', Snapchat is offering that same experience.

Snapchat's Spotlight is essentially a feed where videos are surfaced specifically for users without requiring users to follow anyone.

According to its announcement:

"Spotlight shines a light on the most entertaining Snaps created by the Snapchat community, no matter who created them. We built Spotlight to be a place where anyone’s content can take center stage - without needing a public account, or an influencer following. It’s a fair and fun place for Snapchatters to share their best Snaps and see perspectives from across the Snapchat community."

According to Snapchat, its algorithm takes several factors into account when deciding what videos to promote on Spotlight, saying that:

"Our ranking algorithm looks at factors that show people are interested in a particular Snap, like: the amount of time spent watching it, if it is favorited, and if it’s shared with friends. It also considers negative factors, including if the viewer skipped watching the Snap quickly. Snaps that appear in Spotlight can be from Snapchatters with private, personal accounts, or from Snap Stars with public profiles and millions of Subscribers."

"We work hard to make sure that our algorithms are developed with diverse outcomes in mind," Snapchat added.

Introducing Spotlight

The best of Snapchat. Sit back and take it all in, or submit your video Snaps and you could earn a share of more than $1,000,000 a day. Happy Snapping!https://t.co/U7eG7VNJqk pic.twitter.com/mxGWuDSdQk
— Snapchat (@Snapchat) November 23, 2020

But no, Snapchat is not stopping just there.

Snapchat also wants to incentivize users who post their Snaps to Spotlight, by giving out $1 million day, distributed between the top videos.

According to the company, the amount of money users can earn is determined by how many unique views a Snap gets in a day. What this means, particularly viral videos could receive a pretty hefty payout for their creators.

Knowing that its platform is popular among younger generations of users, Snapchat said that "Snapchatters must be 16 or older" to participate, and "where applicable, obtain parental consent to earn."

"The program will run through the end of 2020, and potentially beyond," added Snapchat.

Published:

26/11/2020