Snapchat has quickly become one of the most popular social media outlets, with a recent study reporting over eight billion daily video views in the application. However, the well-known app is looking to expand its reach and dominance into the web as well. For the first time on Sunday evening, Snapchat made its content accessible outside of the application by bringing stories to the web.

The Quiet Introduction

While the Academy Awards were underway on Sunday, the Snapchat team discreetly updated their homepage with a video player showing their live Oscar story online as well as on mobile devices. The story showed different aspects of the event in short video clips covered in filters and captions. Snapchat reporters filmed the actors and actresses on the red carpet, highlighted fashion choices, and showed backstage footage from the show itself.

Similarities and Differences

Users could watch the highlighted series of snaps shuffle through even if they were not registered users of Snapchat. Similar to watching Stories in the app, users could click through to skip individual photos and videos. However, there was the addition of a pause button that was unique to the web. Before, the only way to share a Snapchat Story would be to screenshot the image through the app. However, by bringing stories to the web, it is far easier to share a Live Story by sending the link to a friend or family member. This increases the likelihood of featured content spreading and going viral.

Potential for the Future

Previously, Snapchat’s website had been simplistic with just a single screen prompting users to download the app. Furthermore, the content could not be viewed unless the consumer had the app and created an account, which potentially limited its reach. Bringing stories to the web will help put Snapchat in competition with other multi-platform social media outlets with an already established desktop presence, such as Twitter Moments.