Snapchat unveils news and entertainment updates feature

28 Jan 2015

Snapchat can now offer users more than their friends’ hastily taken photos following the roll out of its new ‘Discover’ feature which offers updates from news outlets.

Discover can be opened within the app and will feature content from news outlets like CNN, Cosmopolitan, National Geographic, People and Vice.

Operating like a newspaper, Discover will update every 24 hours with each ‘channel’ featuring a different story with text and videos.

“Snapchat Discover is a new way to explore stories from different editorial teams,” Snapchat wrote in a blog post.

“It’s the result of collaboration with world-class leaders in media to build a storytelling format that puts the narrative first. This is not social media

“Social media companies tell us what to read based on what’s most recent or most popular. We see it differently. We count on editors and artists, not clicks and shares, to determine what’s important.

“Discover is different because it has been built for creatives. All too often, artists are forced to accommodate new technologies in order to distribute their work. This time we built the technology to serve the art: each edition includes full screen photos and videos, awesome long form layouts, and gorgeous advertising.”

The company have also released two videos via YouTube that showcase Discover’s capabilities. Click below to watch.

Mobile app image via Shutterstock

Dean Van Nguyen was a contributor to Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com