#Jared Lynton

[imperial-everything]

Pierre, Beto & Jared for Aronik

[viralhottopics]

Snapchat’s ride to the IPO comes with a history of confusion

Image: mashable composite

Snap Inc. is the shiniest thing on Wall Street right now. But it wasn’t always like that.

As recently as a year ago, Snapchat was a roll-your-eyes startup. To the biggest names in tech, advertising, and media, Snapchat was “too confusing”just a “sexting” app and simply “overhyped.”

SEE ALSO: Our first look at Snapchat’s biggest risks and most powerful enemies

Chris Sacca, an early stage investor in Uber, Twitter, Instagram and Kickstarter, had been approached by the company in its younger days, but passed: I was like, The dick pics? he told CNNMoney last year. That probably cost me like a billion dollars.

Ashton Kutcher passed on investingtwiceciting the design: I looked at Snapchats product and I hated the product, Kutcher told Recode last year. I just thought it was like, a little crickety and a little rickety. It just wasnt beautiful or elegant.”

The dick pics haven’t disappeared, but Snapchat, led by CEO and cofounder Evan Spiegel, has been able to change the tune of some, including Sacca and Kutcher. The doubt, however, is very real, as the company exposes itself to more scrutiny with an initial public offering.

“Since the data has come out, I sense a stronger objective argument that Snap is not what people thought. That it isn’t a slam-dunk monster,” said Ophir Gottlieb, CEO of Capital Market Laboratories. “Evan needs to turn into a public company CEO. Zuckerberg did a great pivot from a snot to a leader, and Evan needs the same if the image is to improve.”

The skepticism, as the company’s all too familiar with, could be okay for Snap and Spiegel. It’s apparent throughout Snapchat’s history that it creates lovers and haters supported by a mix of secrecy and frankness from within.

Everything is ‘terrible’

Snap has had a long history of haters. The app got its first somewhat public criticism when Spiegel presented it in his class at Stanford.

Everyone said, That is a terrible idea.'”

Everyone said, That is a terrible idea,'” Spiegel told Forbes in November 2012, about a year after that presentation. Not only is nobody going to use it, they said, but the only people who do, will use it for sexting.

Yet, by that conversation with Forbes, Snapchat had millions of usersand they weren’t just sexting. As New York magazine wrote in October 2012, high school “students who use it know that its true purpose lies in a different clunky neologism: taking self-portraits, called selfies. More specifically, really ugly selfies.”

Spiegel himself was surprised by the sheer numbers: “I think the popularity of the service has been a surprise to everyone. We’ve found that once you try it with a couple friends it’s immediately clear why it’s fun to use,” he wrote to a question on Quora.

Someincluding this reporterjust weren’t willing to try. Others, like Kutcher, were turned off by the design.

Amid the scrutiny, Snapchat kept building. Functions on the app were streamlined while new products were launched. In 2013, Snapchat released Stories, but some of the most active users and app experts weren’t convinced. Gary Vaynerchuk, an early investor in Twitter and Tumblr, said:

“Not this bullshit update product they have that’s called Stories that’s such shit.”

“Not this bullshit update product they have that’s called Stories that’s such shit. The single reason I thought Snapchat should at least consider to sell their company for $3 billion was cause of how shitty their update was, the last time around, makes me question if there are any real product people there.”

Vaynerchuk, through the Vayner/RSE fund, invested in Snapchat a year later.

Snapchat highlighted that change in its own filing:

“We continued to invest in improving Stories even when it wasnt clear that it would be successful. Over time, Stories has grown into one of our most popular products.”

So came more updates and so came more hate. In 2014, there was Snapcash, a payment service that inspired disgust on Twitter:

Snapchat is trying too hard, like snapcash was stupid and this discover stuff is too. Forward isn’t always better.

Quade Joseph (@QuadeJoseph) January 27, 2015

Snap cash is bound to fail

Jared Fleming (@flimflam15) November 21, 2014

The haters weren’t wrong. Snapchat wrote in the filing that it has “not recognized revenue” and it is subject to many risks. Still, it caused some hate that perhaps moved the narrative in the right direction; Snapchat could build, and the idea made product managers, engineers and marketers at other tech companies quiver.

“Snapchat was trying all types of innovative things, such as Snapcash. It didnt really turn into a success, but I remember thinking, ‘Why wasn’t there a Vine integration with Square?'” said a former Twitter employee who worked with Vine.

Image: snap inc.

For employees at Facebook, building a lot, especially products people don’t like, is an all too familiar story.

Comparing Snap to Facebook is a question of the opportunity ahead. People are being too quick to call it game over for Facebook / Instagram

Josh Elman (@joshelman) February 3, 2017

The endorsers

The narrative started to shift in 2015, when Spiegel landed the cover of Adweek ahead of Cannes, the industry’s largest advertising festival. In 2016, Snapchat, via DJ Khaled, graced the cover of Bloomberg Businessweek in a story titled, “How Snapchat Built A Business By Confusing the Olds.”

“It’s all about connecting with his fans on a level who could never before and being able to inspire them in real time,” one of DJ Khaled’s reps saidabout his continued daily use of the app.

they don’t want you to know @djkhaled is on the cover of Bloomberg Businessweek http://pic.twitter.com/CPvlKWYGp8

ShamW0W (@TheShamW0W) March 21, 2016

Why is Snapchat going public now? It’s shiny. What was hate has flipped into love. The major key, as Khaled would say, has been moving fast and finding strong, rich advocates.

“Right now, the only thing I give a fuck about in the world is Snapchat. I only care about it because I haven’t seen this attention,” Vaynerchuk said at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last year. “Literally six months ago, it wasn’t. It was still too peer-to-peer. It was still too young. Right now, it’s time.”

Some brands, for now those with a lot of money, just get it. “I think you have to be as they thrive on being different and taking risks. Theres an urge to compare Snapchat to other ‘social media channels’ yet they position themselves as a camera company,” said Ryan Rimsnider, senior manager of digital and social strategy at Taco Bell.

“They offer a really fun and engaging experience amongst your closest friends and fans, are further democratizing awe-inspiring content creation and, most importantly, they gave us the ability to turn ourselves into tacos,” he continued.

“Most importantly, they gave us the ability to turn ourselves into tacos.”

The media may love or hate Evan Spiegel, but this isn’t just the Spiegel show.

“The fascination with the founder is unprecedented other than with Zuck,” Gottlieb said. “I mean personal life, quirks, and age, and dating habits.”

Importance lies with advocates. That’s why early on Spiegel brought Sony CEO Michael Lynton, MTV co-founder and iHeartMedia CEO Bob Pittman and former Daily Mail executive Jon Steinberg into his court.

But some of the earliest consumers are getting a little weary. Snapchat, they say, could go the way of Vine if they don’t prioritize creators. Shaun McBride, better known as “Shonduras” from his Snapchat fame, has spoken out about the lack of reception and appreciation from the executive team.

Justin Rezvani, CEO of TheAmplify, once had frequent meetings with Snapchat about working with influencers. But no longer.

One competitor not mentioned in Snapchat’s risks is Musical.ly, which creators and millennials are gravitating toward.

“Influencers and creators build platforms and sustain audience,” said Justin Rezvani, CEO of TheAmplify. “I would just like to see more of that from Snapchat.”

These users provide attention. They also provided the value.

The sentiment around Snap’s IPO release averaged out to being neutral, as judged by tweets sent between 11 a.m. Thursday to 10 a.m. Friday.

Image: crimson hexagon

“If Evan shows Wall Street the money, hey, now the image is great,” Gottlieb said. “But if this tumbles or struggles financially, it will be a hate fest.”

BONUS: Yes, Trump watched the Women’s Marches, and yes, he tweeted about it

Read more: http://on.mash.to/2jKI3YU

from Snapchat’s ride to the IPO comes with a history of confusion

[june-novak-blog]

[dean-ericka-blog-blog]

Helena&Jared&Dean || ♣ || A first time for everything. [ Flashback ]

With Led Zeppelin music playing in the background, overruling the characteristic rattling sounds of stuff that had gotten stuck years and years back, but neither Jared or Dean ever cared to get them out. The two best friends had been saving people, hunting things, together for over 18 years now, having met on a case Dean's dad's been on, and ever since that time the two haven't been apart, both having become flawless hunters. 

But today, today they weren't on a usual case, not on a case at all, to be honest. No, they were on their way to New Egypt, Jersey, because of this call Dean had received that morning from an old friend; Helena Kerr. Daughter of the best hunter he's ever heard his dad talk about, but deep down he knew he would one day be better than her. Helena had called to ask if they could help her out, but hadn't mentioned what she needed help with, even though Dean had not stopped trying to get her to say it. Maybe that was the reason Dean now didn't give a fuck about the law's speed limit, and just tried to get to her place as soon as he could. There was no time to lose when a person, especially a friend, was in danger. 

Tires squeaked in protest when the car came to a halt faster than was recommended, and once the engine was turned off, Dean practically flew out of the car, tossing the door closed behind him before hurrying to her door, not even having to look back to know Jared would follow him. 

[dean-ericka-blog-blog]

OOC

I won't be online for a while. I don't know how long, but, according to the tone in my parents' voices, it's gonna be long. I will still have my iPod, but the battery is close to dying, and I need my computer to charge it. And, that's where it's really bad my parents are gonna take away my PC. Maybe I can be online at school or something, I'll see. 

I WILL MISS YOU GUYS!

[dean-ericka-blog-blog]

Jared && Dean -- Saving people, hunting things...

Now Dean had his soul back, no one had been exactly sure about how he felt. There were moments he'd just be silent, or act really distant and his eyes would have this thousand miles stare. But, also there were moments he'd act like nothing's wrong, and actually managed to smile. It was confusing, but, at least he made effort to make it seem he was okay. Which was progress, right? However, Dean was his old self again, and he was a hunter again. And maybe, he was even better than he'd been before now that he's had a close up of the strategies and hideouts of the things he hunts.

A day of rest after regaining his soul later, Dean decided to get out of the house, and pick up where he and Jared had left off, that day Dean had died. And to be honest, he could use a case right now, so he could shoot the guilt and pain off, even if that would mean he'd have to deny remembering most of what had happened the last one and a half year. It would just all be worth it, Dean realized, the moment he parked the glorious Impala infront of the apartment flat Jared lived in.

[dean-ericka-blog-blog]

Jared && Dean -- FLASHBACK -- Been to Hell.

All those promises he made himself on his first day in Hell, about how he wasn’t going to become like everyone else out here, about how he wasn’t going to give in like some hypocritical junkless douchewad, had gotten harder to keep everyday. With every single cut, burn, slash, tear, there was this little voice inside him that considered giving up, but every time he would shake it out of his mind, and take the pain, swallow it. But as the years passed by, and the pain never stopped, it got harder to say no, the idea of having this eternal torment stop was tempting, really tempting, and his voice of reason and sanity had become all a blur. Until he just couldn't take it anymore, thirty years after that day he made this little promise to himself. 

For that moment on, it had only gone downhill. With each day a little more of Dean's empathy, humanity and soul left him like the blood that dripped off the souls he ripped apart. He never thought back of the life he had before being torn to shreds by Hell Hounds, like he used to back when he was the one on the rack. He couldn't think of his friends and family now he was becoming something he would gank within a second if it had been on him. He couldn't think of how they'd think of him, and how disappointed, let down, betrayed they would feel. And even though after all these years, decades, he spent in the pit, torturing souls, he didn't care about anything anymore, didn't see right or wrong anymore, and had even come to enjoy the massive pain he caused, the protective feeling he had over his best friend, Jared had never left. It was that one thing he couldn't forget. They sacrificed everything for each other, they were practically brothers, and that wasn't just something Dean could forget easily. And even when he got released from Hell, after what felt like a complete century, Dean didn't have to think twice about where he's gonna go, the moment he had clawed himself out of his grave. 

[dean-ericka-blog-blog]

OOC

As far as I know, I don't owe anyone replies on this acc, and the inbox of the confessions blog is empty. 

And, Jared, we need a para! Flashback, future thing, present, IDGAF.