Snapchat debuted its web player just in time for the Oscars on Sunday night, giving everyone a nice behind-the-scenes look at the red carpet and the actual show.
Snapchat.com is featuring a curated Live Story -- the same one you can watch in its app -- from Snapchat reporters, starting with celebrities on the red carpet, some award predictions, and videos of the show recorded by people in the crowd. The story showed who won which awards, with behind-the-scenes moments as well as custom graphics and filters (though it didn't show entire monologues). You can watch it here; it's unclear whether that will self-destruct after 24 hours, like other Snapchat videos do.
This was certainly an interesting experiment for Snapchat, but it could even be a launching pad for future projects and development on the web. (Previously, you've only been able to watch Snapchat's content on mobile). For upcoming events like the Tony Awards or sports championships, we could be seeing more Snapchat coverage viewable on desktop.
Hosting a Live Story like this on the web is much easier to share than one within Snapchat's app; it's a much more convenient way to pass around the link during and after the event. This new feature could point to the possibility of users having their own stories hosted on the web in the future.
The experiment is clearly part of Snapchat's ongoing efforts to become more of a go-to source for major events, just like Facebook and Twitter, and enhance its social presence.
Snapchat did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding future plans for its website.