Facebook Clones Snapchat Yet Again With New Photo Filters And Stories
Facebook tried on at least two occasions to acquire Snapchat, once for $1 billion and then again for $3 billion. Snapchat's founders boldly rebuffed both offers and now several years later Snapchat is more popular than ever. The asking price might be too high for Facebook at this point, but rather than acquire the photo and video sharing app, it appears the new strategy is to emulate Snapchat.
Mark Zuckerberg and the crew have begun rolling out a new camera with filters and effects that are very similar to the ones in Snapchat, at least in functionality. To access the new features, users on iOS and Android can tap on the camera icon on the top left corner of the Facebook app and begin snapping photos. Another way is to swipe right from the News Feed.
"The Facebook camera is packed with dozens of effects like masks, frames and interactive filters that you can apply to your photos and videos. Reactive effects let you interact with dynamic objects— like falling snow—and style effects apply an artistic filter to your video in real time, letting you turn your everyday selfie into a Picasso-style work of art," Facebook explains.
Facebook is also using its clout to bring aboard promotional tie ins. As part of that, it's partnered with brands to create masks for several upcoming movies, including Alien: Covenant, Despicable Me 3, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Power Rangers, Smurfs: The Lost Village, and Wonder Woman.
Just as Snapchat does, Facebook promises to refresh the different effects in the camera to keeps things new and interesting.
Facebook is also implementing stories, which allows users to share a collection of photos and videos that friends can view for 24 hours before they disappear. This is in addition to being able to share photos and videos directly with contacts for a limited time.
"We hope that with the new Facebook camera, Stories and Direct, it will be easier than ever to see the world through each other’s eyes, and we can’t wait to see the photos and videos you create," Facebook said.
Mark Zuckerberg and the crew have begun rolling out a new camera with filters and effects that are very similar to the ones in Snapchat, at least in functionality. To access the new features, users on iOS and Android can tap on the camera icon on the top left corner of the Facebook app and begin snapping photos. Another way is to swipe right from the News Feed.
"The Facebook camera is packed with dozens of effects like masks, frames and interactive filters that you can apply to your photos and videos. Reactive effects let you interact with dynamic objects— like falling snow—and style effects apply an artistic filter to your video in real time, letting you turn your everyday selfie into a Picasso-style work of art," Facebook explains.
Facebook is also using its clout to bring aboard promotional tie ins. As part of that, it's partnered with brands to create masks for several upcoming movies, including Alien: Covenant, Despicable Me 3, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Power Rangers, Smurfs: The Lost Village, and Wonder Woman.
Just as Snapchat does, Facebook promises to refresh the different effects in the camera to keeps things new and interesting.
Today, we’re excited to introduce the new Facebook camera. We think it’ll give everyone more ways to express themselves and share what they’re up to. So from now on, you can just let your camera do the talking.
Posted by Facebook on Monday, March 27, 2017
"We hope that with the new Facebook camera, Stories and Direct, it will be easier than ever to see the world through each other’s eyes, and we can’t wait to see the photos and videos you create," Facebook said.
