Venice-based Snapchat has shut down its original content efforts, and laid off around 15 people who were working on the Snap Channel, according to Deadline. Snapchat had launched its original content efforts in January, to develop its own original content and music for the service. snapchat original content layoff hollywood snapchannel social MORE

It’s quite possible that Snapchat could do the same for L.A. Column Social TC Los Angeles Snapchat PayPal Mafia Evan SpiegelIf you were to write a history of Silicon Valley, you could do it by looking at a series of major diaspora. MORE

In what has been a constant, Snapchat -all-the-time news week, the Venice, California-based messaging company has apparently cut loose its COO , Emily White, as CEO and co-founder Evan Spiegel has decided to take a more hand-on role at the company. White had only joined Snapchat in 2013, having formerly been Instagram''s Director of Business Operations. snapchat executive emily white evan spiegel instant messaging MORE

Now Snapchat has stepped into the fray with its own solution. The New Snapchat. Will the new Snapchat actually cut down in the divisive problem of fake news? Social Media algorithm Facebook Fake News news feed snapchat MORE

the parent company of Snapchat, has reportedly acquired Israeli startup Cimagine Media. snapchat cimagine media israel israeli merger acquisition augmented realityVenice-based Snap, Inc. , The deal is reportedly worth between $30M and $40M. Cimaging Media develops augmented reality technology. The acquisition was first reported by a local Israeli financial daily. Cimagine was founded in 2012. READ MORE>>. MORE

Venice-based Snapchat has been sued in a class action lawsuit , over what the lawsuit says are obscene news stories published via Snapchat Discover. The lawsuit alleges "willful and intentional violations" of the Communications Decency Act by Snapchat in linking to media partners such as Buzzfeed, Vice, and MTV. snapchat lawsuit legal discovery obscenity geragos buzzfeed clickbait MORE

In a bid for a new generation of readers, Playboy , the men's magazine best known for its long history of nude photo pictorials of women, has launched a new "non-nude" era of the publication, with a Snapchat-like front cover. MORE

A report on Tuesday afternoon from Reuters says that Venice, California-based social communications and networking app developer Snapchat has filed its paperwork for its IPO. snapchat merger acquisition exit social networking communicationsNo terms or details on that IPO have been yet announced by the company, which has been rumored to be working on an IPO for months. READ MORE>>. MORE

The identities and credentials for more than 50,000 Snapchat users have been stolen and posted to the Internet, after a massive phishing attack on Snapchat's users, according to a report. snapchat phishing phish email cybersecurity security MORE

Snapchat is reportedly set to roll out a redesign of its app in mid-June by merging its Discover and Live Story features MORE

Venice-based Snapchat is hoping to launch an IPO, which will raise the company an astounding $4 billion in capital--valuing the company at between $25 billion and $35 billion--according to a report on Wednesday from Bloomberg. Snapchat is in the midst of an IPO effort being led by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group. Snapchat recently changed its corporate name to Snap, Inc. snapchat snapinc snap merger acquisition exit social networking MORE

the parent company of Snapchat , has filed lawsuit in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging that he was fired for refusing to tell lies to potential IPO investors. The lawsuit, filed by Anthony Pompliano, claims that Snapchat used false statistics on user numbers to recruit Pompliano from Facebook, and that Snapchat has since made it difficult for him to find a new job. snapchat legal lawsuit merger acquisition anthony pompliano court facebook MORE

Venice-based Snapchat , the high flying, high profile startup led by Evan Spiegel, is planning an IPO, according to Spiegel, who talked about the company's IPO plans at a conference on Tuesday. The plans for an IPO are not a surprise, given the ultra high valuation that Snapchat has been getting in its latest private funding rounds. snapchat merger acquisition evan spiegel MORE

Los Angeles-based Snapchat has hired Drew Vollero as SVP of Finance, and acting Chief Financial Officer, the company said this week. snapchat finance drew vollero mattellVollero was former at Mattell, and also has served at Taco Bell, Yum! Brands, and ZS Associates. Vollero was most recently SVP Corporate Strategy, Development, and Investor Relations at Mattel, where he had been for 15 years; he lives in Orange County. READ MORE>>. MORE

Venice-based instant messaging app maker Snapchat has raised another $175M in funding , according to the WSJ this morning, from Fidelity Investments. According to the report, the new funding values Snapchat at $16 billion, the same valuation as the company's last funding injection. Snapchat has now raised more than $1.2 snapchat venture capital instant messaging fidelity investments communications MORE

Snapchat , the hot Venice-based startup which lets users send self-destructing photos to each other, has been hit by a spam attack, the firm said this morning. Snapchat said that it believes an individual created multiple accounts and sent snaps to Snapchatters with public accounts. MORE

Snapchat stock plummets; Apple stock rises; Tech recycler sentenced to 15 months MORE

otherwise known as SnapChat , is aiming at a March IPO, according to a report on Thursday afternoon. Snapchat has been rumored to have been working on an IPO for several months now, and had been looking to choose an investment bank for the offering earlier this year. acquisition merger messaging instant march snapchatVenice-based instant messaging company Snap Inc. MORE

s Snapchat launches filter game Snap Inc.’s MORE

Venice-based Snapchat has confirmed its acquisition of Bitmoji, the developer of software which lets people create their own, personalized "emoji", which they can insert into Snapchat. The company--which announced the deal via a comic strip on Tuesday--said Bitmoji's team has joined Snapchat as part of the deal. Snapchat reported paid around $100M for Bitmoji's parent company, Bitstrips. merger bitmoji snapchat acquisition comic strip emoji software MORE

Venice-based social networking app developer Snapchat looks to be on the prowl for employees, based on a new recruiting video released onto YouTube by the company Wednesday morning. In the video, Snapchat''s employees -- of which there are 35 -- talk about working at Snapchat and in Venice. MORE

A new report this morning says that a new survey of users of Venice, California-based Snap 's social networking app, Snapchat , finds opinion of the brand has dropped significantly due to its redesign. The report says the opinions of 18- to 34-year old users of Snapchat dropped 73 percent following the redesign, based on data from YouGov. mobile redesign millenial snapchat MORE

A report, published over the weekend by TechCrunch, calls Snapchat Spectacles a failure , pointing out only 0.08% of Snapchat's users have purchased the camera sunglasses. snapchat spectacles snap business camera sunglasses failure consumer products glasses social mediaThe coverage follows a report last week from The Information, which says that Snap's Spectacles have been piling up at warehouses , with "hundreds of thousands of unsold units". READ MORE>>. MORE

Looking to buy one of Snapchat's new high tech Spectacles ? The new product, from Snapchat parent Snap Inc., is only available what Snap is calling the "Snapbot", a vending machine which moves from place to place selling its Snapchat specific, wirelessly enabled camera. The Snapbot--there's only one, so far--was most recently in Venice, not far from Snapchat's headquarters--but now appears to be en route to another location. MORE

Venice, California-based Snapchat said on Tuesday that it has launched a new group chat feature , called Groups , which lets up to 16 people communicate through the service. Snapchat said that, by default, snaps sent to a group are deleted by default after 24 hours, and that each recipient can only open and replay each of those snaps once. snapchat group chat chatting communications social mobile MORE

In a demonstration of the extensive adoption of Venice-based social messaging service Snapchat , the White House said that it has launched its own "Official Story" on Snapchat. snapchat white house social messaging media story socialmedia obama administration politics MORE

Venice-based instant photo messaging service Snapchat has released an update to the company''s software for both Android and iOS, in response to the major security breach over the holidays resulting from the abuse of its "Find Friends" feature. MORE

Los Angeles-based Snapchat has acquired emoji software developer Bitstrips , in a deal worth around $100M in cash and stock, according to a report this morning. cartoon emoji animation software acquisition merger snapchat bitmoji MORE

An ad for a Snapchat game asking Snapchat users whether they would rather “slap Rihanna” or “punch Chris Brown” drew criticism from Rihanna on another social media outlet and was soon followed by a 4 percent drop in the stock price for Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat MORE

the company behind Snapchat , has run into more controversy, after celebrity Rihanna weighed in on an poll advertisement Snapchat had approved and run on its service asked viewers to vote on whether they'd like to "slap Rihanna" or "punch Chris Brown". Snapchat has reportedly apologized for the incident. brown chris rihanna violence domestic snapchatVenice, California-based Snap Inc. , MORE

In an attempt to separate Snapchat from Facebook--and despite the service being widely considered a social media service--Spiegel said Snapchat actually began as "an escape from social media" used to talk with friends. Spiegl says Snapchat--unlike others--is working with media companies to make sure they can also profit off the content they produce for its Discover platform. snap snapchat social media facebook fake newsIn an editorial, posted this morning, Snap, Inc. MORE

Los Angeles-based MomentFeed , which develops social marketing software to help multi-location, retail brands better manage the information about their local stores, has linked up with Snapchat's partner program, according to the company. Snapchat said that MomentFeed is now one a number of "Snapchat Partners", which lets MomomentFeed's customers execute targeted, location-based paid advertising campaigns using Snap Ads and Geofilters. MORE

Venice-based photo messaging service Snapchat is reportedly raising $100M in funding, at a valuation of half a billion dollars, according to a report Friday. snapchat venture capital rumor valuation photo messaging mobile MORE

Facebook has launched an unfriendly feud by aping the features of social media upstart Snapchat MORE

Venice-based Snapchat 's newest product--Snap-recording sunglasses--is the result of the work of another, Los Angeles startup--Vergence Labs--which was quietly acquired by Snapchat back in 2014. entrepreneur labs vergence startup spectacles snapchatBusiness Insider tells the story of Vergence Labs , founded by Erick Miller and Jonathan Rodriguez, and their roots at UCLA and Stanford. READ MORE>>. MORE

Venice, California-based social messaging service Snapchat is opening up an office in Seattle, and plans to hire at least 50 staffers in the Rain City. According to a report , Snapchat has leased 8,000 square feet in the city, part of a quest to find more technical talent for the company. snapchat seattle office expansion growth jobs employment MORE