Time To Monetize: Snapchat CEO Says Ads Are Coming 'Soon'
It's only a matter of time before the memes start rolling that read, "Brace yourself, ads are coming to Snapchat." It's an inevitability now that Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel let the cat out of the bag regarding plans to finally generate revenue -- while speaking last night at a Vanity Fair event in San Francisco, he gave the heads up that ads are headed to the popular messaging service.
"People are going to see the first ads on Snapchat soon," Spiegel said. "We think they're pretty cool."
Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snapchat
The question is whether or not Snapchat's users will find them cool or obtrusive. To avoid the latter, the advertisements will be opt-in, giving users the choice of whether to view them or skip them. They'll also only be shown as part of Snapchat's Stories feature, so if you're photo messaging back and forth with a friend, you don't have to worry about ads popping up at random intervals.
It's been an interesting ride for Snapchat. After reportedly turning down separate $1 billion and $3 billion buyout offers from Facebook, the company is now valued at around $10 billion, based on money the startup raised from investors this past summer. That's a pretty big number considering the service doesn't have a revenue stream, at least not until the ads start rolling in.
The photo and video sharing service processes more than 700 million "snaps" per day, along with over 500 million stories being viewed on a daily basis.
"People are going to see the first ads on Snapchat soon," Spiegel said. "We think they're pretty cool."
Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snapchat
The question is whether or not Snapchat's users will find them cool or obtrusive. To avoid the latter, the advertisements will be opt-in, giving users the choice of whether to view them or skip them. They'll also only be shown as part of Snapchat's Stories feature, so if you're photo messaging back and forth with a friend, you don't have to worry about ads popping up at random intervals.
It's been an interesting ride for Snapchat. After reportedly turning down separate $1 billion and $3 billion buyout offers from Facebook, the company is now valued at around $10 billion, based on money the startup raised from investors this past summer. That's a pretty big number considering the service doesn't have a revenue stream, at least not until the ads start rolling in.
The photo and video sharing service processes more than 700 million "snaps" per day, along with over 500 million stories being viewed on a daily basis.
