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Adweek: Pros and Cons: How Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook and Apple Are Battling for Breaking News

 

By Marty Swant – This story first appeared in the Nov. 30 issue of Adweek magazine. Excerpt, featuring thoughts from Brian Solis

The battle over breaking news escalated this fall with a trio of mobile products from major tech companies. In November, Facebook announced its stand-alone app called Notify on the heels of Twitter launching Moments the month prior. When Apple released the iPhone 6s and iOS 9 in September, it came preloaded with Apple News, which takes a shot across the bow of Snapchat Live Stories, a product that has garnered impressive results since being offered earlier this year.

“It’s a great competition for attention and the monetization of that attention,” said Altimeter Group analyst Brian Solis. “This is something that has been long brewing for publishers.”

Twitter Moments

“There’s a serendipity to Twitter that you don’t necessarily get with other platforms,” said Solis. “Twitter Moments is trying a little too hard to introduce formality as a result of having to monetize those moments and having to compete against other social networks.”

Snapchat Live Stories

With 100 million daily users, Snapchat’s approach to news is focused first and foremost on the minds of millennials. But that shouldn’t deter media companies, said Solis. The app also is engaging users who act like millennials.

Apple News

Solis questioned whether Apple News could compete with more community-based platforms like Facebook and Twitter. “I am real big on my social graphs,” he said. “It’s not just about the news that’s happening, but what I’m interested in.”

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