Yahoo Finance Kylie Jenner and MKBHD question Snapchat's future post-redesign
Snapchat is supposed to be cool. But for some of the top internet celebrities, Snapchat's redesign has them questioning their future with the app.
SEE ALSO: Evan Spiegel defends algorithms, criticizes Facebook in a new op-ed ahead of Snapchat's redesign
Kylie Jenner — who just gave birth to her first child and is coming back from somewhat of a social media break — chimed in on the madness. Instead of sharing her own stance with the world, she asked her followers their feelings:
Mm just saw the new Snapchat.. I don’t know how i feel about it! What do you guys think?
— Kylie Jenner (@KylieJenner) February 9, 2018
Meanwhile, YouTube star Marques Brownlee, also known as MKBHD, posted a video that was done somewhat as an open letter to Snapchat titled "Dear Snapchat! where he makes the decision to abandon the app for the most part.
Snapchat's redesign was supposed to appeal to creators, in part by having their accounts appear in the Discover page. That section is now driven by algorithms, and the app will suggest accounts to users even if they don't follow them. Snapchat users can make their favorite celebrity appear to the top by clicking and subscribing to their Story. That's not intuitive, but according to CEO Evan Spiegel, the redesign has improved user engagement where it's been tested.
And yet, Brownlee isn't holding on. The redesign was apparently the final straw. He began the video by bashing Snapchat's Android app. That's not breaking news, as Brownlee admitted.
"It still works technically but everyone knows that Snapchat is terrible on Android phones. It looks like you’re recording through a fog," Brownlee said.
But that's not the reason he's really making the video now. Brownlee said he's focusing on Instagram and Instagram Stories, rather than Snapchat. He shared that his Snapchat Stories typically had 95,000 viewers while his first Instagram Story has 400,000.
"The main gripe I have with Snapchat is as a content creator, which I understand is not the normal perspective ... How is anyone ever going to find my Snapchat Story if they don’t have my username or my number?"
Snapchat's redesign is supposed to help improve the experience for creators. For example, his Snapchat Story appeared in the new Discover page, somewhat addressing his concern that Snapchat lacks discoverability for concerns. But Brownlee isn't convinced yet.
Snapchat accidentally promoting my story about why I’m leaving Snapchat. You played yourself @Snap pic.twitter.com/nLXcT0PSow
— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) February 9, 2018
Chrissy Teigen also spoke out about the redesign, responding to a fan's tweet that they had to search for her name to find her rather than see it at the top of their Stories page. Teigen tweeted, "How many people have to hate an update for it to be reconsidered?"
Of course, not every internet celebrity is giving up on the ghost. Spencer Pratt, famous for reality TV show The Hills, a Snapchat cover of Taylor Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do," among other accolades, loves it.
Snapchat is Amazing!!!! https://t.co/RpoEwddEtt
— Pratt Daddy (@spencerpratt) February 8, 2018
Snap update discover has my favs like @ThePerezHilton pic.twitter.com/8R8O2XEex6
— Pratt Daddy (@spencerpratt) February 9, 2018
Outside of internet celebrities, everyday Snapchat users are struggling with the change. There's several Change.org petitions running requesting for Snapchat to bring back the old design. There's also a bunch of fake scams suggesting users post a certain amount of Stories or get a particular amount of retweets.
But none of those will work. The old Snapchat has disappeared. The worry is: How many users will?
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