The Social Battle

Last week, Facebook released an update to their app that includes their own version of "stories." Similar to Instagram, the new Facebook design adds a strip of stories to the top of the page. Facebook did this in an effort to compete with Snapchat and increase their daily use. The stories carry similar features as Snapchat, such as filters.

With Snapchat being Facebook's main competitor, and the decline in overall usage, Facebook realized they had to make some updates in order to retain their user base. The growing trend among millennials is the concept of video and photo communication. Snapchat users normally put their activities on their story, before they post a picture and clever caption to Facebook. Snapchat has just become a fun, interactive way to show your friends what you are doing, and filters have made the experience even more entertaining.

In my opinion, this new creation by Facebook has the potential of being beneficial, but I could also foresee it being ineffective. Implementing Snapchat style stories was a move in the right direction for Facebook, because people are fascinated by consumer generated content. Consumers will go nuts over digital content that requires participation that will ultimately lead to a fun experience. If Facebook had just recreated Instagram's version of stories, I would not anticipate users to accept the new Facebook design. However, since they implemented filters to compete with Snapchat, I think users will be more likely to try out Facebook's newest addition. However, I think Facebook is too late in adopting this new feature. Even though people crave new digital trends and consumer generated content, Snapchat is the current leader in video and photo communication. I think consumers will be slow to adopt Facebook's version, since they have been accustomed to Snapchat. In my opinion, the Facebook and Snapchat stories are too similar, and I don't think Facebook can compete with Snapchat's presence in digital communication. Facebook has always been the outlet for sharing photos and captions, and Snapchat has been the outlet for sending quick videos and photos with cute snapchat filters and voice changing animations. The two platforms are meant for two completely different things, and I don't see people turning to Facebook to send the things they would normally send through Snapchat. That does not mean that people won't experiment with Facebook stories to see what filters that have to offer.