WhatsApp Status — An encrypted Snapchat Stories clone

@bentossell @joshconstine I am trying to figure out the way to actually implement such app to post stories into multiple apps at the same time. Would be super cool 😀 But I agree with you, that these companies do it to satisfy their already existing users' needs, so that users simply don't switch into another apps. On the other side, I am afraid that all these companies subconsciously raise the bar for any other new platform or service.

@bentossell @joshconstine There have been plans for Stories to be available across Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, and WhatsApp as long as you follow the same people or have them in your friends list. Post in one, get it displayed in all apps.

@benln we've been here before. Sheesh. Next up we'll need aggregators to deal with this until the next medium comes along... except this time there are no APIs. ☹️

@chrismessina Buffer for Stories 🔥

@benln @chrismessina ha that was my request above basically

@bentossell @benln @chrismessina yeah, I don't want open 5 platforms to watch stories for the same person. Once Buffer for Stories is out, I won't be a happy camper watching repeated stories.

@benln Maybe everyone thinks too much and doesn't look carefully at the use cases. We have multiple circles of friends and acquaintances. There are more 200 countries in the world. Not everyone use Snapchat, not everyone use Instagram, not everyone use Whatsapp. Yep, all of us installed 5 or 6 chat apps in our phones, but for many purposes and to different groups. The dumbest things we will share only to our intimates on Snapchat. People don't add too many people on Snapchat if they are not influencers or artists. People add more friends on Instagram, and now they love Instagram for sharing everyday life moments with bigger audience. That is the reason of the success of Instagram Stories. In Europe or Africa, Whatsapp is communication king while many others are marked "for fast Internet only", "data stealing" or "privacy concerned". The circles of friends of Snapchat is smaller than Instagram, and Instagram is smaller than Whatsapp. People now don't have to find a place to share their moment. They can do it in Whatsapp.

@tristanisham I can't see myself using it. WhatsApp is chat. Quick chat for friends and groups. Like Messenger but lighter. Instagram lends itself properly to photos - its not really the point of WhatsApp.

@dr_motley I wrote about this and Facebook's war on Snap. Facebook's trying to just blatantly kill Snap through drowning out its user base. I don't see much of a benefit to any more story updates. I'm always for more encryption, but this update feels like a blatant lazy push.

@tristanisham Agreed. The experience of the Stories feature (on any platform) will be hideously diluted if every single app has it.

@dr_motley personally, I'm already there. I hate Snap's UI, but I like how ephemeral it feels compared to Instagram. I like Insta's discoverability, but not enough people I know use it compared to those who use Snap. I fee like Statuses are an outdated functionality grandfathered in from the days of desktop only and unpolished OS's. They're kind of pointless now, especially since most apps come with real time read receipts and available markings. They're gimmicks. Gimmicks that can be used as thin veils of innovation. Define: unnecessary

@nash But Instagram and SC are apps designed for you to go on and browse, so the idea of disappearing photos that you can view while browsing makes sense. WhatsApp has a specific function - chat - and most people won't interact with the app unless to do something specific. For the Stories feature to work it needs the way people use and interact with the app to change.

@dr_motley @nash He did mention a key point " If Whatsapp does a decent job of making this simple to understand it and consume it, this will catch on quick "

@otymartin @dr_motley @nash I disagree. I definitely do not want the majority of my Whatsapp contacts (family, colleagues etc) to see what I post on my Snapchat and I'm thankful for the fact that many of them don't have Snapchat. I'm sure this is true of most people who use the platform and is possibly Snapchat's biggest advantage.

@androidlove but it does work on multiple devices doesn't it? I have it on my laptop at least and I think it has an ipad app.

@tduarte perhaps. but to be honest, I love that FB is copying Snap like nobody's business. Instagram Stories are awesome. I use them maybe once a week, but I actually do. Meanwhile, Snap was this ugly UI clusterfuck that I could never care to figure out. So yeah, they were "Original" but they failed to address users like me, and cloning is the result.

@kirillzubovsky @tduarte Apparently, we're not Snap's target audience. Young people supposedly love the navigation (or at least understand it). Still wondering how they'll get to $22B with <25 yo approach.

@kirillzubovsky @tduarte Can't speak for you, but I had the same experience but largely down to their complete lack of interest in the Android app. Until last year they weren't even bothering to use the Android Camera API causing it to pretty much crash every time you opened.