Snapchat Relies on Square Reputation to Validate Snapcash

This past week, mobile app giant Snapchat released a new feature that they’re calling Snapcash. It’s a way for Snapchat users to send each other money through the app. As a Snapchat user, when they sent their customary “TeamSnapchat” mass messaging promo, I thought, “Why on earth would I trust Snapchat with my bank account when I can hardly trust them with my embarrassing and unflattering pics I already am concerned about?”

Snapchat, who has come under fire by not only its users but also by the US Federal Trade Commission, does not have the cleanest record when it comes to being honest with Snapchat users. According to a charges made by the FTC, Snapchat had at one point claimed that after the “timer” had expired, the picture sent would simply disappear. However, after further investigation, it was found that the pictures and data were not only being stored by Snapchat, but were also accessible by users on their very own phones. The very feature that was appealing to users when Snapchat was released was compromised, and for many users (myself, included) the appeal was gone.

Now, fast-forward six months, and Snapchat is releasing a feature that requires you connect your credit card to your account. At first I was shocked, and frankly couldn’t believe anyone would do it. However, after some more investigation, I learned that Snapchat was bringing Snapcash to life by partnering with the company Square, a well-established mobile payment app. Square has a sparkling reputation for data security and keeping your account information safe.

Looking at how my opinion of Snapcash changed with the realization that it would be Square handling the monetary aspect of Snapchat, I can see a prime example of how reputation management, and the strategic partnership of two companies with very different reputations can be used to change consumer’s perceptions of a product.

What do you think? Will you be utilizing the new Snapcash feature?

Why, thank you!

In today’s world, it often goes unnoticed that the websites we frequent coincidently display information that is appealing to us. Kind of like the beauty of hitting shuffle and getting the perfect lineup of music, we often forget that we are the ones who chose those songs in the first place. While pressing shuffle might be a bit more random, there is more at play when you open your favorite website and see recommendations tailor-made for you. Our textbook explains this concept called predictive modeling, which is defined as “a series of statistical techniques known as predictive analytics to identify underlying patterns of data.” (Roberts & Zahay, 2013, p. 73) Predictive modeling employs an algorithm using previous shopping data on websites like Amazon.com and offers you recommendations similar to what you’ve bought in the past. This is done in an effort to create more shopping ease for the customer, and is a popular Internet marketing tool for countless websites.

Next time you open websites like Netflix, Amazon, or Pandora, make sure to thank them for showing you all the awesome things you love. And thank predictive modeling, too.

Success Kid Shuffle

 

Roberts, M. L., & Zahay, D. (2013). Internet Marketing: Integrating Online and Offiline Stradegies, Third Edition. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.