Facebook’s newest app will be called Slingshot (internally, at least), and it was developed to rival Snapchat.
Apparently, a video messaging app is what Facebook needs the most now. Facebook tried to acquire Snapchat last November, but the social networking company was turned down by the startup.
So, Facebook has decided to build its own version of Snapchat instead – if you can’t acquire it, built it, right?
How Slingshot Will Work
Like all of Facebook’s other apps (including Facebook Messenger now), Slingshot will be completely separate from the Facebook app and site. Slingshot may also include text messages (as Snapchat does), but those details haven’t been worked out quite yet. It’s also a possibility that Facebook higher-ups may get rid of the app altogether (and you may never see it), but it looks like Facebook is trying anything to reach out to the rest of the world that doesn’t actually use Facebook (and that number keeps getting higher).
Facebook has recently purchased Instagram, and the company has also purchased WhatsApp. Both of these purchases were made to help Facebook reach other parts of the world, since many people outside of North America have very little to do with social networks, but still use messenger apps. Now, Facebook is going to have to prove to the world that its new video messenger service is better than what Slingshot is offer, and that might not be as hard as you think.
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