Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Tampa Bay news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Charlotte news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Photo: Jaap Arriens / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Snapchat is launching Snap Maps on the web to make its public and often hyper-localized content available outside of the Snapchat app. The public stories that you can view on the website (map.snapchat.com) can also be embedded directly into news organizations’ websites.
Why it matters: Consumers tend to trust news from local sources over national news sources, according to Pew Research Center and Morning Consult/Politico. Platforms like Snapchat are taking advantage this by using their unique ability to quickly crowdsource news, strengthening their positions in the news ecosystem.
Snapchat has proven that its Maps technology can crowdsource real-time video and images faster than nearly any other platform. Its technology was crucial in helping first responders address victims during the natural disasters that plagued the East Coast, Texas and Mexico last fall.
- Snapchat sees this as a prime opportunity to help serve news organizations that lack the infrastructure needed to gather local information in real time.
It’s easy to see the big benefit: This will enrich our local reporting and help us tell more robust stories. Particularly with breaking news, Snap Maps will let our journalists add relevant, on-the-ground material quickly.— Andrew Pergam, VP Video and New Ventures, McClatchy
100 million monthly users use Snap Maps, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel announced on Snap's latest earnings call. This update, which makes crowdsourced Stories on Maps available outside of the app, could also broaden its reach.
The news comes weeks after Snapchat announced it would begin pushing other Stories content outside of its app to engage more users.