Find out more at: http://www.brand24.net On the 17th June Facebook launched a new photo messaging app called Slingshot. This bold move took aim at a very popular and similar app, Snapchat. Within one week after the announcement Internet users generated over 20k mentions, concerning Slingshot. Negative opinions slightly surpass positive ones (33% against 30%). Most of negative contents concern a general dissatisfaction with the app, but people also complain about Slingshot features (Reply to Unlock), privacy settings and impute the lack of creativity to Facebook. On the other hand, there are still some who think it is a great app, even better than Snapchat and it brings a lot of fun. However, Snapchat is still more popular than Slingshot in social media. The majority of contents were published on Twitter (73.6%), which is still the most popular platform for sharing contents.

1. Analysis of the Internet discussion about Slingshot introduction
Slingshot by Facebook
Reactions across
Social media

2. Reactions across social media
Analysis based on social media and the Internet monitoring
Facebook’s Slingshot announcement
01

3. Introduction
02
Analyzed period
All data was collected with the Internet
monitoring tool – Brand24.
17th-23rd June 2014
On the 17th June Facebook launched a new photo
messaging app called Slingshot. This report aims
at analyzing reactions to this announcement
across social media.
20,799
Total number of mentions collected in the
analyzed period
13,100
Total number of social media authors who
published contents related to Slingshot
introduction
1,600
Total number of domains and subdomains which
contained mentions about Slingshot

4. Report scope
1
Buzz analysis
Number of mentions
Estimated social media
reach
Sources of mentions
2
User-generated
contents analysis
Main categories of
mentions
Sentiment of contents
3
Sample mentions
4
Conclusions
03

5. Number of mentions
Estimated social media reach
Sources of mentions
Buzz analysis

6. Number of mentions
What is the buzz for particular days
1. peak
First increase in the buzz on 9th June is
related to rumors about supposed Slingshot
introduction that spread in social media.
2. peak
The second and the highest t peak reflects
the official announcement.
3. peak
The third increase in the number of
mentions is also related to the news. This
time Facebook announced that Slingshot
was available for all user internationally.
04
Increased buzz is related to announcements
The number of mentions holds on the low level before the official Slingshot announcement and on the average after. Slight rise in the
number of mentions on 9th June is related to rumors about the app introduction. On the 17th the number of mentions started to swell
rapidly and reached the peak value on 18th. After that it began to fall slowly. It proves that discussion is more intense during specific
events or announcements in the news.
t
1
2
3

7. Estimated reach of discussion
What is the reach of contents related to Slingshot on particular days
05
Increased reach is related greater number of mentions
Reach of a discussion is related to the increase in the number of published contents. However, on the third peak the increase in the reach
is scant in relation to the number of mentions. What is more, the reach holds on a low level during the depicted period. The only exception
is the time when the Slingshot was introduced and when the reach added up to nearly 15 million users.
t
1
2
3

8. Sources
73.6%
4.3% 3.8% 2.6% 2.3% 2.2% 1.7%
9.4%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Twitter News Photo Facebook Blogs Forum Video Other
Share in all mentions
Share in all mentions
Sources of all mentions
06
Twitter as the most popular source of mentions
Twitter is the most popular source of mentions in this analysis and its meaning has been increasing recently amongst social media users. People not
only create contents on this platform, but also share contents from other websites. They use it more eagerly than Facebook, which here gets only 2.3%.
News websites generate definitely less mentions than Twitter, but still they are the second most popular source of mentions. News platforms usually
are very active when something new is introduced, as it was in the case of Slingshot. Other platforms play less important part in the analysis. Amongst
them the most popular were photos and videos sharing sites (5.5% jointly), especially Instagram.
t

9. Shared contents from news platforms
6.9%
5.1%
11.9%
7.0%
8.0%
3.0% 3.4%
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
Techcrunch NY Times Mashable The Verge The Next Web BBC Wired.com
Estimated share in all mentions
Estimated share in all…
What are the most popular news websites for sharing contents
07
The vast majority of Internet users share information from news websites on social networks
81% all mentions include only shared news about Slingshot introduction from other platforms. Sharing information does not require much effort, so
people are more eager to click a button „share” on the news website, rather than create their own content on their profiles. Amongst all news
platforms the most popular for sharing news about Slingshot introduction is Mashable.com. The most often people share those contents on Twitter.
t

10. Shared contents from news platforms
975,098
2,227,639
1,238,392
540,565
1,101,576
42,504
549,212
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
Techcrunch NY Times Mashable The Verge The Next Web BBC Wired.com
Estimated social media reach
Estimated social
media reach
From which news platforms do shared contents have the highest reach
08
Number of mentions does not reflect the actual reach
Even though, Internet users share articles from Mashable the most often, shared contents from this platform do not generate the highest social media
reach. NY Times have the highest social media reach and it might result from the fact that its readers are more influential than from other news
websites.
t

11. Slingshot vs. Snapchat
Slingshot Snapchat
141 713 unique mentions
Snapchat is still more eagerly discussed in social
media. However, the increase in buzz is not related to
the application itself, but to its newly-introduced
competitor.
129 573 unique mentions
Phrase Slingshot appears nearly five times rarer than
Snapchat. As we mentioned before the increase of
buzz occurs when the Slingshot was introduced.
2
09
Number of mentions (14th June -27th June)

12. Slingshot vs. Snapchat
Slingshot Snapchat
Large reach
In the case of Snapchat, the estimated social media
reach was on the average or high level.
1The reach on the low level
Except for March 16-20, 2014, the estimated social
media reach remained on the low or very low level.
2
10
The estimated reach of contents (14th June -27th June)

13. Slingshot vs. Snapchat
Slingshot Snapchat
Photos & videos – 14.2%
On the other hand, many people add #snapchat
hashtags to their Instagram photos and videos, so the
share of photos and videos in total number of
mentions is relatively high.
1Photos & videos – 6.4%
Internet users publish much less pictures and videos
which concern Slingshot. It results from the big share
of mentions from news websites.
2
11
Sources of mentions (14th June -27th June)

14. Main categories of mentions
Sentiment of contents
User-generated contents analysis

15. Contents’ categories
12.6% 13.3% 13.3% 14.7%
3.4%
31.0%
4.3%
7.3%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Reply to Unlock
feature
Comparison
with Snapchat
Looking for
friends on
Slingshot
Using the app Availability
outside the
USA
General
thoughts about
the app
Facebook
acting and
strategy
Options and
features of the
app
Share in user-generated contents
share in user-generated contents
What are the main topics of a discussion related to Slingshot introduction
12
The biggest share of general opinions about the app
In this part of the report we considered only mentions generated by users. We excluded contents shared from other websites and
analyzed a proper discussion about Slingshot. Nearly one third mentions include general opinions about the app and its introduction. A
fair part of the Internet users talk about Slingshot’s options and features (nearly 20%), and the most stimulating is Reply to Unlock feature
which forces a user to respond before seeing a photo or video. The Internet users also share their experiences with the app. Mentions
which include comparison between Slingshot and Snapchat have similar share in the Internet discussion (each 13%). Smaller, but also
important, part of a discussion concerns opinions about Facebook operation and its recent moves and policies.
t

16. Contents’ categories with sentiment
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Reply to Unlock
feature
Comparison
with Snapchat
Looking for
friends on
Slingshot
Using the app Availability
outside the
USA
General
thoughts about
the app
Facebook
acting and
strategy
Options and
features of the
app
Share in user-generated contents
Positive
Neutral
Negative
What is the share of positive, neutral, and negative contents in the discussion
13
The most favorable proportions in contents related to the app utization
Contents concerning the app usage have the highest number of positive mentions in relation to negative ones. On the other hand,
Slingshot does not stack up against Snapchat. Negative mentions which include comparison between Snapchat and Slingshot surpass the
positive ones in this category. One more interesting fact is that amongst general thoughts about Slingshot neutral mentions exceed 50%. It
means that Internet users have mixed feelings about the app.
t

17. Sentiment of contents
30.02%
36.77%
33.21%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Positive Neutral Negative
Estimated share of mentions
Positive
Neutral
Negative
What is the sentiment of contents related to Slingshot
14
Relatively high level of negative contents
Opinions about Slingshot introduction are divided into similar proportions. However, such level of negative opinions (over 30%) is
relatively high.
t

18. Positive opinions
45.9%
10.7% 11.3% 13.8%
4.4% 2.5% 2.5%
6.3%
2.5%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Users liked
the app
The app
brings fun
Cool way to
share photos
and videos
It is better
than
Snapchat
People like
the Reply to
Unlock
feature
Well-done
sounds
effects
Nice features People liked
the way
Facebook
strategy
Connection
with FB is not
required
Estimated share of positive opinions
What are the main reasons for generating positive contents
15
General thoughts about the app represent nearly a half of positive opinions
In the case of positive opinions, people express their general feelings rather than focus on detailed features of the app.
t

19. Negative opinions
2.2%
8.4%
10.7%
6.7%
9.6%
6.7% 7.3%
2.8%
23.0%
15.7%
5.6%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Not
compatible
with some
devices
Facebook
is a
copycat
The app
will not
succeed
Facebook's
strategy
The app
has no
sense
Privacy
settings
Using the
app is
confusing
Already
too many
chat apps
The app
does not
appeal to
users
Reply to
Unlock
feature
Not
available
outside
USA
Estimated share of negative opinions
What are the main reasons for generating negative contents
16
Wide range of different reasons of dissatisfaction with the app
Except the general discontention with Slingshot, people complain about Reply to Unlock feature which forces users to respond to the
message before the actually see it. Many Internet users (about 10% negative mentions) think that the app will fail in the near future. The
privacy settings are also open to doubt. This is not the first case that people do not trust Facebook security policies. Many find Slingshot
useless, confusing, or senseless.
t

20. 2%
Share of mentions from Facebook
Facebook as a source of mentions in positive, negative, and in all contents
17%
Positive contents Negative contents
17% 2%
17
People generate more positive contents on Facebook
The interesting fact is that on Facebook people write many more positive opinions than negative ones. Share of mentions from Facebook
reaches 17% of all positive opinions. It means that Facebook’s users are more satisfied with the app than other platforms’ users.
t

21. Main categories of mentions
Sentiment of contents
Sample mentions

22. Positive mentions
18

23. Positive mentions
19

24. Positive mentions
20

25. Positive mentions
21

26. Positive mentions
22

27. Positive mentions
23

28. Positive mentions
24

29. Negative mentions
25

30. Negative mentions
26

31. Negative mentions
27

32. Negative mentions
28

33. Negative mentions
29

34. Negative mentions
30

35. Negative mentions
31

36. Negative mentions
32

37. Conclusions

38. Conclusions
33
Sources of mentions
The most popular source of mentions is Twitter. The other do not play an important part in the analysis. However, in the case of positive
mentions, contents from Facebook represented 17%.
t
Estimated social media reach
Estimated social media reach held on the low level except the time when Slingshot was officially introduced.
t
The number of mentions related to Slingshot
Number of mentions held on the low level before Slingshot introduction. It increased slightly when the Slingshot was rumored in the Web
and went up rapidly when the app was officially launched. After the 20th the buzz held on an average level and again increased a little
when the app went global. Each increase was related to the news and it proves that Internet users willingly share information that they
read in the Web.
t

39. Conclusions
34
Categories of user-generated contents
General thoughts about the new app are the most common in user-generated contents. Many Internet users also discuss in social media
about Slingshot’s features, and options. Quite a lot contents concern the comparison to other photo sharing app, Snapchat.
t
Shared contents
Contents which are shared from news websites represent over 80% all mentions. Twitter is the most popular platform for sharing news.
t
Sentiment of user-generated contents
Both positive and negative user-generated contents represent about 30% of all mentions each. The rest of contents have neutral
sentiment. Such level of negative opinions is relatively high and reflect the general dissatisfaction with the news.
t

40. Thank you for your attention
35
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