时间:2025-04-29 06:41:28 来源:网络整理编辑:娛樂
Snapchat is continuing on its quest to redefine mobile.The mobile storytelling app is acquiring Vurb
Snapchat is continuing on its quest to redefine mobile.
The mobile storytelling app is acquiring Vurb, a search and discovery app, for $100 million in a cash and stock deal, according to The Information.
First, it was disappearing messages. Then, it was vertical video. Next, Snapchat could bring more to search.
Founded in 2011, Vurb attempted to make search more mobile-friendly, digestible and shareable by converting results into mobile cards. All within one app, users could search for a place, see the related information and save it for later or send it to a friend. Other categories included movies, TV, video and music.
SEE ALSO:Instagram Stories doesn't mean Snapchat will disappearThe ambitions were clearly to take on search giant Google. Vurb is “very different than traditional search with 10 blue links," founder Bobby Lo told TechCrunchlast year.
For Snapchat, Vurb's technology could align with its own ambitions to capture more eyeballs and ad dollars from Google, Facebook and other apps through improving third-party content and personalization. The news comes shortly after Facebook's Instagram released a nearly identical copy of Snapchat's core feature, Stories.
"I don't think this is about any old mobile search engine," Ian Schafer, CEO and founder of ad agency DeepFocus, told Mashable in an email. "The experience / place nature of Vurb seems to fit nicely into the technological direction Snapchat is heading toward."
"I don't think this is about any old mobile search engine"
That includes deep-linking to other apps and sites, as demonstrated by Snapchat's ticket purchasing ad for X-Men: Apocalypse. Vurb is connected to Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, Google Maps, Netflix and Uber, for example.
Snapchat is also interested in selling and showing ads based on object recognition, as revealed in a recent patent application.
"A search engine geared around place-based intent like Vurb would help take Snapchat closer to that vision when paired with their already impressive visual recognition technology," Schafer said.
Not unlike Foursquare's pitch, Vurb recommends services that are "personalized for you in one simple app," according to its website. Those recommendations are based on interests, trending topics, time, weather and locations, the website reads. That idea could soon be matched with Snapchat's abundance of photos and videos.
Snapchat hasn't been shy about acquisitions. Earlier this year, the company acquired Bitmoji for $100 million, which it recently integrated into the app. Snapchat spent $150 million on facial recognition app Looksery to support its lenses technology last year, TechCrunchreported.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
TopicsGoogleSnapchat
Despite IOC ban, Rio crowds get their political messages across2025-04-29 06:11
10 Halloween costumes you really shouldn't wear this year2025-04-29 06:04
The internet celebrates Trump's Twitter suspension with snarky memes2025-04-29 06:02
Late night hosts do grim rapid2025-04-29 05:25
Katy Perry talks 'Rise,' her next batch of songs, and how to survive Twitter2025-04-29 05:13
We read Obama's 'A Promised Land' so you don't have to, but you should2025-04-29 04:48
Trump's leaked recording set to the song from 'Rent' is a jam2025-04-29 04:48
Get smarter during quarantine with a Coursera Plus subscription for $3992025-04-29 04:28
Nate Parker is finally thinking about the woman who accused him of rape2025-04-29 04:25
Get smarter during quarantine with a Coursera Plus subscription for $3992025-04-29 04:05
17 questions you can answer if you're a good communicator2025-04-29 06:38
15 movies we can't wait to see in 20212025-04-29 06:17
Hey Google, Gwen Stefani needs some help holding the Pixel 52025-04-29 06:07
A third monolith has now appeared in California2025-04-29 05:54
Donald Trump's tangled web of Russian influence2025-04-29 05:30
Disney+'s 'The Right Stuff' is a space drama with slow liftoff2025-04-29 05:22
'Zack Snyder's Justice League' lands on HBO Max in March2025-04-29 05:18
Florida online voter registration deadline extended after website crash2025-04-29 05:17
This 'sh*tpost' bot makes terrible memes so you don't have to2025-04-29 05:04
Can you name the 3 branches of government? This meme offers up some, uh, creative answers.2025-04-29 04:39