<p>Snapchat on Monday unveiled a new curated short-form video feed in a stepped up challenge to social media rivals like TikTok.</p>.<p>The new format called Spotlight will allow Snapchatters to see content from influencers and other members of the network popular with young smartphone users.</p>.<p>Spotlight is aimed at broadening the connections among Snapchat users by enabling anyone to create a video that gets distributed on the platform.</p>.<p>It aims to encourage more users to create short-form video "snaps" which can be embellished with filters and augmented reality effects.</p>.<p>Parent firm Snap describes Spotlight as a "new consumption experience" for the social platform with an estimated 249 million active users at the end of September.</p>.<p>The company said the new offering could enable anyone to have their videos viewed by millions of users, and potentially earn money from them.</p>.<p>Snap said that all videos on Spotlight will be reviewed by human moderators before being shown on the platform -- in contrast with rivals which use automated systems and in many cases respond to inappropriate content after the fact.</p>.<p>Another difference will be the lack of public comments on Spotlight, eliminating the need for moderation of abusive or unwelcome content.</p>.<p>Spotlight aims to become a "personalized" feed which will be curated by algorithm based on users' viewing habits -- a move following the lead of TikTok which has seen sizzling growth in recent months.</p>.<p>The launch comes amid increasing competition among social networks and rivals copying Snapchat's disappearing messages.</p>.<p>Facebook's core social network has been losing ground among younger audiences to rivals like Snapchat and TikTok, even as Facebook-owned Instagram continues to grow in that demographic group.</p>.<p>A Piper Jaffay survey of US teens last month showed Snapchat is their favorite social media platform, and that TikTok overtook Instagram for second place.</p>
<p>Snapchat on Monday unveiled a new curated short-form video feed in a stepped up challenge to social media rivals like TikTok.</p>.<p>The new format called Spotlight will allow Snapchatters to see content from influencers and other members of the network popular with young smartphone users.</p>.<p>Spotlight is aimed at broadening the connections among Snapchat users by enabling anyone to create a video that gets distributed on the platform.</p>.<p>It aims to encourage more users to create short-form video "snaps" which can be embellished with filters and augmented reality effects.</p>.<p>Parent firm Snap describes Spotlight as a "new consumption experience" for the social platform with an estimated 249 million active users at the end of September.</p>.<p>The company said the new offering could enable anyone to have their videos viewed by millions of users, and potentially earn money from them.</p>.<p>Snap said that all videos on Spotlight will be reviewed by human moderators before being shown on the platform -- in contrast with rivals which use automated systems and in many cases respond to inappropriate content after the fact.</p>.<p>Another difference will be the lack of public comments on Spotlight, eliminating the need for moderation of abusive or unwelcome content.</p>.<p>Spotlight aims to become a "personalized" feed which will be curated by algorithm based on users' viewing habits -- a move following the lead of TikTok which has seen sizzling growth in recent months.</p>.<p>The launch comes amid increasing competition among social networks and rivals copying Snapchat's disappearing messages.</p>.<p>Facebook's core social network has been losing ground among younger audiences to rivals like Snapchat and TikTok, even as Facebook-owned Instagram continues to grow in that demographic group.</p>.<p>A Piper Jaffay survey of US teens last month showed Snapchat is their favorite social media platform, and that TikTok overtook Instagram for second place.</p>