Snap launches TikTok competitor Spotlight with payouts for viral posts

Snapchat may have invented the whole concept of "Stories" with vanishing photos and videos back in 2014, but the app universe has changed and now Snapchat is changing along with it. 

Meet "Spotlight." It's a new tab within Snapchat where users can watch Snaps (including short-form videos) submitted by other Snapchatters. Spotlight will serve up Snaps to viewers algorithmically, based on what users spend the most time watching and liking. Users can also click on hashtags within Snaps on Spotlight to see other Snaps around the same topic or event.

Sound familiar? An endless stream of user-generated videos is the same concept as TikTok, and now Instagram's Reels. Snapchat already had a few different content types: You can send and receive snaps from friends, and watch their stories. You can also subscribe to communal, themed stories (like Oddly Satisfying), view geographical stories in the Snap Map, or watch shows or news content in Discover. Spotlight brings the platform more directly into the viral content sphere — with some interesting differences from TikTok and Reels.  Read more...