There’s no good way within the Snapchat app to discover new accounts to follow, which can be a challenge for publishers trying to get started on Snapchat and build an audience there. But two new tools are trying to fix that problem. GhostCodes and Peek help Snapchat users find interesting users to follow, and help other […]

Paul Bradshaw has compiled a comprehensive, useful guide for journalists on how they can use Snapchat for storytelling and effective engagement. In this installment, Bradshaw explains topics such as the various uses of Snapchat (chat app vs. stories vs. Discover), what kinds of stories are suited to a Snapchat “story,” and how to do an […]

When Facebook Messenger announced that publishers could create bots for the platform, many expected publishers to jump on it as a new way to deliver readers news. But since then, the list of publishers with bots for Messenger hasn’t expanded much beyond the initial group of publishers and brands at launch. While Facebook hasn’t done […]

U.S. tech companies are rushing to mimic Chinese messaging platforms and their success, but WeChat product manager Dan Grover suggests that China’s experience shows that chatbots aren’t always desirable. U.S. chat bots are mostly being designed to perform tasks, such as searching for flights, via a conversation between the user and the bot. But that […]

Facebook’s new Messenger bots were highly anticipated, but The Verge’s Nick Statt writes that the bot’s interactions aren’t as instantaneous as we would expect them to be. When talking to a bot, users can even see bouncing dots that indicate that the bot is “typing.” Facebook’s own M bot relies on a combination of artificial […]

You might have heard: At Facebook’s F8 keynote on Tuesday, the important announcement for publishers included better bookmarking, a new sharing tool for text, and more streaming options (Nieman Lab) But did you know: Facebook announced at F8 on Tuesday that its Messenger platform is now open for publishers, marketers and anyone else to build […]

Snapchat is more than just a chat app, Mathew Ingram writes: It’s aiming “total domination of every relevant form of social media, using messaging as a delivery system.” Snapchat has the huge Millennial audience that everyone else is seeking, and its recent updates are part of its plan to continue to dominate that market. Snapchat […]

Chat applications are fundamentally different from anything news organizations have tried to monetize before, Jarrod Dicker. In order to successfully monetize these apps, Dicker says news organizations will have to move away from advertising and closer to marketing. Chat apps are more personal and more direct, making people less receptive to unwanted interruptions like ads. […]

In an update released Tuesday, Snapchat made its chat function easier for users to navigate, but also made it look more similar to its competitors, Mike Murphy writes. Users now have more options in the chat area, including videos, stickers and voice calls. While some of those features are new, many existed in the previous […]

Some news organizations are looking to messaging apps as a new way to deliver news to their readers, but how can a news organization get started building a bot? To make it simpler, a new tool called Chatfuel lets publishers (or anyone) create a bot for messaging apps, allowing users to focus on certain topics […]