Daily Tech Snippet: Monday, February 6

• Snap's IPO to Be Haunted by Twitter and GoPro: Snap has gone to great lengths to distance itself from comparisons to Twitter Inc., the last big social media public offering. In its filing for an initial share sale, the maker of the Snapchat mobile app emphasized that it measures itself by daily active users -- a metric that Twitter doesn't disclose. Snap explained that its users tell stories chronologically, unlike the Twitter timeline, which displays most recent posts first. The younger company also said it plans to focus on developed markets, instead of racing to find users all over the world. Snap calls itself a "camera company," rather than focusing on its messaging app or media content. No matter the positioning, Snap's numbers raise the same questions Twitter's did. User growth is slowing and losses are mounting, but revenue gains are a bright spot. That's how Twitter's financial details looked when it filed to go public in 2013, and the investor concern has never subsided, even after a spate of executive departures made way for new management and initiatives to jump-start user growth. Twitter's revenue started to slow when advertisers realized that with stagnant user growth, there wasn't a reason to spend more. Snap is also trying to avoid one of Twitter's IPO mistakes. Twitter compared itself in strategy to social media giant Facebook, but ultimately it paled in contrast to its rapidly growing rival, and has gotten punished by investors since then. Instead, Snap frames itself as a portfolio company, the owner of the Snapchat app, the Spectacles wearable video camera, and many more things to come. At the heart of it all is the idea of the camera -- because ``the camera screen will be the starting point for most products on smartphones.'' The word "camera" is mentioned 79 times in the IPO filing. That approach may bring another uncomfortable parallel. GoPro Inc., which makes small wearable action-video cameras beloved by extreme sports aficionados and outdoor enthusiasts, had its own highly anticipated public offering in 2014. It had a premise similar to Snap: capturing memories in the moment they happen, with the raw perspective of the user. As demand for its devices subsided, GoPro aimed instead to be a media company, seeking to generate more revenue from content that users created and selling advertising. That hasn't worked out as planned. GoPro recently cut 200 jobs and its entire entertainment unit, and its shares now trade for less than half their IPO price. Other makers of wearable devices, including Fitbit, Jawbone and Pebble, haven't fared much better.

• WeChat users send 46 billion digital red packets over Lunar New Year: Xinhua:Users of WeChat sent around 46 billion electronic red packets - digital versions of traditional envelopes stuffed with cash - via the Chinese mobile social platform over the Lunar New Year period, the official Xinhua new agency reported on Saturday. China has a long tradition of giving red packets during the Lunar New Year, which fell on Jan. 28 this year. Internet giants such as Alibaba Group Holding have promoted the use of virtual red packets, also known as "hongbaos", to grow business in the country's booming mobile payment market. The number of digital red packets sent via WeChat, owned by Alibaba rival Tencent Holdings Ltd, rose 43 percent in the Jan. 27 and Feb. 1 period compared with a year earlier, according to Xinhua. People in the provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong and Hebei led the red packets mania, while South Koreans were WeChat's most active hongbao senders outside the Chinese mainland, Xinhua said.

• Google’s Super Bowl ad accidentally set off a lot of Google Homes: Early during tonight’s game, Google’s ad for the Google Home aired on millions of TVs. We’ve actually seen the ad before: loving families at home meeting, hugging, and being welcomed by the Google Assistant. Someone says “Okay, Google,” and those familiar, colorful lights pop up. But then my Google Home perked up, confused. “Sorry,” it said. “Something went wrong.”This isn’t the first time television has set off people’s home assistants. A month ago, a TV broadcast accidentally triggered a whole bunch of Amazon Echos.

• Financing growth with debt in the app economy: Smart developers consider accounts receivable (AR) financing or venture debt as suitable sources of financing because they are generally low cost and don’t dilute their equity. However, many often don’t read the “fine print,” which can lead to them signing away more than they need to. So how can you avoid this increasingly common pitfall?One of the keys to making the right financing choice is understanding the concept of liquidation preferences. When lending money, banks or venture debt providers will require you to pledge certain assets as security against the funds advanced. This is known in the U.S. as a lien (or a charge in the U.K.). Liquidation preference determines which creditors are paid out first if your company ends up in financial difficulties and goes into receivership.The assets you pledge as security should be appropriate for how you’re going to use the money you borrow. For example, if you’re borrowing money against your receivables to fund growth, you should only secure the loan against your receivables. Generally speaking, if an asset can be clearly defined, there’s no reason other assets should be included as security, although lenders will often try to include wider coverage as it improves their overall security position in the event of any default. Here’s an analogy: When you take out a mortgage to buy a home, you must pledge your home as security for the loan. But the bank doesn’t ask you to also pledge other assets like your vehicles or your future earning capacity (in other words, your personal intellectual property).