but it might be time to start paying attention

但是時候開始注意它了

The app company plans to hit public markets in 2017, with a reported valuation of 25 billion dollars

這間手機程式公司計劃於 2017 年掛牌上市，公司估值 250 億美元

That would make it the biggest IPO star since Alibaba in 2014

它會是繼 2014 年阿里巴巴首次公開募股之後最大的新起之秀

Don't be embarrassed if you don't know Snapchat

你還沒聽過 Snapchat 的話，不用感到難堪

One of the biggest differences with Facebook and Twitter is that a snap will disappear after at most 24 hours

Snapchat 跟 Facebook 和 Twitter 最大的差別是一則 snap 訊息會在 24 小時內消失

The app lets you take photos or short videos with your phone

你可以藉由這個程式用手機拍攝照片或短片

You can doodle, annotate, add filters

可以塗鴉、加註解或使用濾鏡

So how is this app so valuable?

那麼，這個手機程式為何有價值呢？

Well, it has 235 million users amount

它有 2.35 億使用者

More than half of those use it daily

超過一半的使用者天天使用

Despite being a relatively young company, it ranks just behind Instagram and Twitter

雖然它是相對較年輕的公司，但它僅排在 Instagram 和 Twitter 之後

And the youngs love it

而且年輕人超愛它

70% of 18 to 24-year-old smartphone owners use the app

有七成 18 到 24 歲的智慧型手機使用者使用這個手機程式

Its popularity is even growing among the older, 30+ crowd

在 30 歲以上的族群裡也漸受歡迎

The company makes its money from video ads and branded filters that are interspersed throughout the app

Snapchat 透過散佈在程式各處的影片廣告與品牌濾鏡賺取利潤

And thanks to Snapchat's young and coveted millennial user base

Snapchat 擁有一群年輕、備受覬覦的千禧世代使用者

advertisers are willing to pay top dollar to get their promos in front of youthful eyes

讓廣告客戶願意大手筆從年輕族群中打開知名度

That's triggered big expectations

這形成了人們對 Snapchat 更高的期待

With revenue estimated to reach 1.7 billion dollars in 2018

總收益額在 2018 年預估高達 17 億美元

Still, Snapchat isn't cheap

然而，Snapchat 不便宜

Its reported 25 billion dollar valuation is 25 times its expected 1 billion revenue next year

公司估值 250 億美元是 Snapchat 明年十億美元期望收益的 25 倍

Compare that to Facebook, which went public in 2012, it had a valuation of 19 times its forward revenue

2012 年公開上市的 Facebook 的公司估值則是期望收益的 19 倍

And even that valuation was considered outrageous at the time

這當時是一個相當驚人的數字

Snapchat is hoping that its popularity isn't as fleeting as the life of one of its messages

Snapchat 期望它的知名度不會像他的 snap 訊息一樣一閃即逝

Whether it deserves a huge valuation depends on how long users keep snapping

Snapchat 公司估值的高低取決於使用者是否持續使用它