To add to this, there's also Nextdoor, Discord, YouTube, Telegram, Life360 etc depending on how you define a social network. I'm pretty sure all of these are growing significantly both in the US and abroad.

Not to mention all the Asian social networks that are growing like crazy.

My theory is that Snap just doesn't have enough differentiation either as a product or as an audience to be sustainable as an independent entity long term (caveat: Snap in today's form). I don't know how long they'll be able to retain their core unique demographic and most loyal users when the action is all happening on Instagram. I get the feeling it'll be one of those shifts that happens slowly at first, and then quickly - especially if the company makes major missteps (like the recent redesign fumble) or becomes too stagnant. However, I believe Snap still has enough time and money to change that trajectory with the right vision and leadership.

Genuine question... how is whatsapp a social website vs just a chat application? Perhaps I've missed something critical about it but the way I've used it and seen anyone else use it is just as a replacement for SMS

As someone who doesn't use WhatsApp in a country where everybody does: the primary use case appears to be group chat. If it was just a replacement for SMS, not having it would not be a problem - I could still text with people. However, I'm "missing out" on things because I can't be in some WhatsApp chat groups.

Hence the network.

Any proprietary communications platform meant primarily for communicating between humans can be referred to as a social network. It's a pretty broad definition in my mind.

So letters are a social network?

No but I guess you could argue that language is.

The postal system seems like it would qualify.

It technically also has "stories"

As a long time Snapchat user i know my friends at this point like Instagram more. Snapchat’s recent interface changes make little sense and sometimes serve to actively confuse the user experience. Classic case of fixing something that wasn’t broken.

They made the change so they could build out their ad platform and make money. Which they beat estimates on revenue

Agreed, the "let's put stories in your personal message view interface" was absolutely terrible in my opinion. I use to watch stories all the time but now I hardly ever do because it is so annoying to find them.

Shit, I watch instagram stories now more often because those are easy to see and pick whos I want to watch.

I agree, the UI/UX chnages put me off. I haven't use snap in over 6 months.

I think the confusing user experience serves to engage younger audiences who gravitate to what is regarded by the older users as complicated. I believe this is Snapchat's unique approach vs all the other social media.

There's just nothing Snap offers that isn't as good or better on Instagram.

And hoping gimmicks like new AR tricks or Spectacles can turn that around has always been a lost cause.

Snapchat's UI never made sense.

And Hacker News!!