I'm by no means an expert but have the app which I occasionally use.The Original AG 76 said:
I dont use snap so I have an honest question....
What is it ( all I know is that it is some kinda picture sharing app) and how does it make money ? I understand how FB with their ads popping up all over the damn place sells space but how does some picture app make money ?
Snapchat has what they call stories which is a collection of videos and pictures from sponsored brands. ESPN, CNN, Food Network, NatGeo, WSJ, etc, etc, etc, all have their own featured "story" which users can click on an watch. They are usually topical and change out daily (maybe more often). Those companies pay Snap per view and there are also adds which play in the "stories". I'm assuming Snap takes a percentage of the ad revenue and the rest go to the companies.
I don't use the app enough to know but I don't think ads pop up if sharing pictures/videos between friends, I think its just on sponsored content. They seem to have a viable revenue model and less intrusive ad structure than Twitter so I think they have a chance.