Everything old, or not really that old, is new again in Silicon Valley. According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, Google is working on its answer to Snapchat. It’s called Stamp — a portmanteau of “stories” and “AMP,” the acronym for Accelerated Mobile Pages, Google’s quick-loading web articles — and you could be seeing it as early as next week, sources with intel on the project told WSJ. The new platform would be similar to Snapchat’s Discover feature, where publishers create and share made-for-Snapchat (or repurposed-for-Snapchat) content.
The Journal reports Google has been in talked with outlets including CNN, the Washington Post, Time, Vox, and Mic. “Participating publishers would run stories that could be several swipeable slides encompassing text, photos and video, just as on Snapchat.” Unlike Snapchat’s Discover section, Stamp wouldn’t be part of a designated app. Instead it’s possible Stamp content would be shown beneath Google’s search bar.
Google isn’t the only company coming for Snapchat this week. Facebook, fresh on the heels of celebrating the first anniversary of copying Snapchat to create Instagram Stories, began testing a stories feature for desktop users. (It already has stories on mobile, though it often feels like nobody uses them.) Nobody tell Miranda Kerr. The model and wife of Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel has historically not been too thrilled about other tech companies ripping off her husband’s product. “Do they have to steal all of my partner’s ideas? I’m so appalled by that … When you directly copy someone, that’s not innovation.”
