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I was about to make a snarky comment disagreeing with Justin -- as one of those folks who can't deal with Snapchat, I think it's a weird encapsulation of a lot

by jmduke 11y ago

I was about to make a snarky comment disagreeing with Justin -- as one of those folks who can't deal with Snapchat, I think it's a weird encapsulation of a lot of my complaints of newer social apps. The UX feels deliberately confusing and disorienting; it promotes a culture of manufactured intimacy; I have to deal with a bunch of software developers thinking they're hip by saying 'bless up' and flooding their social media presences with key emojis, as if a celebrity culture disseminated via Snapchat is different than any other celebrity culture. I also don't really understand how you can write an article saying Snapchat is unmanufactured and not a "social dick-measuring contest" while using DJ Khaled as your main example (and ending with an "add me on Snapchat!"). But this article is titled Why I love Snapchat, and not Why Snapchat is the best. And honestly -- I know a lot of people who love Snapchat. And that's totally cool! Software that creates joy is almost always a net positive thing, and even if I don't really dig Snapchat I'm glad that other people do. It's okay to love software, even if its flawed or not the ~~ future of media ~~ or whatever. I loved Glitch, a game that hopefully Stewart Butterfield will revive at some point. I love Reddit, even though I find a substantial and growing chunk of its userbase/content to be somewhere between abysmal and appalling. (Just please, stop with the key emojis.)

justin 11y ago
To address some of your points: I think celeb culture's existence on Snapchat and other platforms doesn't have much to do with what I wrote about how Snapchat works. You get feedback in the form of private snaps and messages, not public #s of comments and likes. So, it isn't a public competition. This is true for celebs and for myself and for every day users. But it still feels nice to get positive feedback (like someone telling you offline "I like your snaps", or someone snapping you a response to your Story). Getting more friends on it increases private, positive feedback.
- kobayashi 11y ago
  I think it's great when an article author responds to an HN comment. Good on ya for joining the conversation.
Bahamut 11y ago
Wholeheartedly agree - I spent 2 weeks at a friend's place just a week ago, and my friend I was in became obsessed with recording videos purely for Snapchat every time. Instead of focusing on the moment with friends, she was more concerned with posting something on Snapchat for our circle to see. I don't want everything I do blasted on social media - I want to enjoy the moments I spend with friends. Snapchat is the opposite of living in the moment, and that is my beef with it.
- JonFish85 11y ago
  > Snapchat is the opposite of living in the moment, I used it only for a year or so, but my impression is/was that Snapchat is a way of trying to show other people how in-the-moment you are, even though you have to take the little bit of time away from that moment to broadcast it.
- an_account 11y ago
  Like every tool, snapchat too can be used poorly.
- hammock 11y ago
  This sounds like every social media ever
- dorian-graph 11y ago
  > Instead of focusing on the moment with friends, she was more concerned with posting something on Snapchat for our circle to see. Isn't this common with every social media app, relatively? It's the same with cameras, writing down notes, and many other things. You need to use it wisely and have a good focus on the right time and place, and amount of time too. I use Snapchat a fair bit friends, but almost always not when we're together. It's a low-friction and cheap way of just keeping in contact. Like when you're walking down a street, see something cool and point it out to a friend. Snapchat lets you do that when you're not actually together. When I'm with friends and want to show something to other friends, I'll make a quick photo or video, and then let it be. Again, you'll have some friends who are on their phones too much, but that's not a Snapchat app problem, or a physical camera problem, it's a user problem.
gragas 11y ago
I'm 19. Reading Justin's post and your comment makes me squirm. The formality of actually writing paragraphs to describe how you feel contrasts with Snapchat so much. But the thing is, there's nothing wrong with being formal like that. And there's nothing wrong with Snapchat and key emojis. The overwhelming impression I get from your post is either 1) you don't understand Snapchat, or 2) you understand Snapchat, but you're too embroiled in the "high culture" of Hacker News to be able to appreciate both forms of communication. I appreciate Hacker News because it is a place where I can read and write paragraphs. I appreciate Snapchat for other reasons. That's where I think many people get lost: You don't always have to be serious. At the same time, you don't always have to bless up. I think being able to understand both worlds is key. Major key.
- justin 11y ago
  Being able to write coherent paragraphs is a major key. Even if you Snapchat.
  - gragas 11y ago
    I pointed this out in my comment. You're just disparaging my writing, now, which isn't really a contribution at all.
    - yarou 11y ago
      Your response is a prime example of how hypersensitive your generation is to criticism. A healthy dose of criticism is not only a contribution, but a form of flattery in a way. (Because your detractor thought your comment was worthy of critique, or else they would have ignored it) At any rate, the way I read Justin's comment was that he was agreeing with you, but I could be wrong.
      - gragas 11y ago
        It's true that I immediately thought Justin was criticizing my writing. But if you're right—that Justin was agreeing with me—his comment doesn't counter mine or add to it. It just reiterates something I already said.
zo7 11y ago
Just to clarify, the "social dick-measuring contest" the author was referring to is being able to see how many followers or friend a user has. I can look up how many followers some celebrity has on Twitter or compare how many friends I have with another friend on Facebook, but I have no idea how many followers DJ Khaled or any of my friends have on Snapchat. You can friend celebrities or brands on Snapchat if you want, but there's no mechanism within the app to find popular users. There used to be a "score" that you could see (I think you can only see your own score now), but that was based on how you used the app rather than how many friends you have. I'm not an incredibly social person and I'd never have more than a hundred or so Facebook friends, but I'd always feel a little uneasy whenever I saw how many friends another person had -- you can't help but compare them with yourself. On Snapchat I have no idea how many friends the average user has. It's just a window into the lives of the people you care about (as banal or entertaining as they are).
- ocean3 11y ago
  No mechanism to find popular users and no friend count seems like less pressure to look hip.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]

by jmduke 11y ago

justin 11y ago

To address some of your points: I think celeb culture's existence on Snapchat and other platforms doesn't have much to do with what I wrote about how Snapchat works. You get feedback in the form of private snaps and messages, not public #s of comments and likes. So, it isn't a public competition. This is true for celebs and for myself and for every day users. But it still feels nice to get positive feedback (like someone telling you offline "I like your snaps", or someone snapping you a response to your Story). Getting more friends on it increases private, positive feedback.

kobayashi 11y ago
I think it's great when an article author responds to an HN comment. Good on ya for joining the conversation.

Bahamut 11y ago

Wholeheartedly agree - I spent 2 weeks at a friend's place just a week ago, and my friend I was in became obsessed with recording videos purely for Snapchat every time. Instead of focusing on the moment with friends, she was more concerned with posting something on Snapchat for our circle to see. I don't want everything I do blasted on social media - I want to enjoy the moments I spend with friends. Snapchat is the opposite of living in the moment, and that is my beef with it.

JonFish85 11y ago
> Snapchat is the opposite of living in the moment, I used it only for a year or so, but my impression is/was that Snapchat is a way of trying to show other people how in-the-moment you are, even though you have to take the little bit of time away from that moment to broadcast it.
an_account 11y ago
Like every tool, snapchat too can be used poorly.
hammock 11y ago
This sounds like every social media ever
dorian-graph 11y ago
> Instead of focusing on the moment with friends, she was more concerned with posting something on Snapchat for our circle to see. Isn't this common with every social media app, relatively? It's the same with cameras, writing down notes, and many other things. You need to use it wisely and have a good focus on the right time and place, and amount of time too. I use Snapchat a fair bit friends, but almost always not when we're together. It's a low-friction and cheap way of just keeping in contact. Like when you're walking down a street, see something cool and point it out to a friend. Snapchat lets you do that when you're not actually together. When I'm with friends and want to show something to other friends, I'll make a quick photo or video, and then let it be. Again, you'll have some friends who are on their phones too much, but that's not a Snapchat app problem, or a physical camera problem, it's a user problem.

gragas 11y ago

I'm 19. Reading Justin's post and your comment makes me squirm. The formality of actually writing paragraphs to describe how you feel contrasts with Snapchat so much. But the thing is, there's nothing wrong with being formal like that. And there's nothing wrong with Snapchat and key emojis. The overwhelming impression I get from your post is either 1) you don't understand Snapchat, or 2) you understand Snapchat, but you're too embroiled in the "high culture" of Hacker News to be able to appreciate both forms of communication. I appreciate Hacker News because it is a place where I can read and write paragraphs. I appreciate Snapchat for other reasons. That's where I think many people get lost: You don't always have to be serious. At the same time, you don't always have to bless up. I think being able to understand both worlds is key. Major key.

justin 11y ago
Being able to write coherent paragraphs is a major key. Even if you Snapchat.
- gragas 11y ago
  I pointed this out in my comment. You're just disparaging my writing, now, which isn't really a contribution at all.
  - yarou 11y ago
    Your response is a prime example of how hypersensitive your generation is to criticism. A healthy dose of criticism is not only a contribution, but a form of flattery in a way. (Because your detractor thought your comment was worthy of critique, or else they would have ignored it) At any rate, the way I read Justin's comment was that he was agreeing with you, but I could be wrong.
    - gragas 11y ago
      It's true that I immediately thought Justin was criticizing my writing. But if you're right—that Justin was agreeing with me—his comment doesn't counter mine or add to it. It just reiterates something I already said.

zo7 11y ago

Just to clarify, the "social dick-measuring contest" the author was referring to is being able to see how many followers or friend a user has. I can look up how many followers some celebrity has on Twitter or compare how many friends I have with another friend on Facebook, but I have no idea how many followers DJ Khaled or any of my friends have on Snapchat. You can friend celebrities or brands on Snapchat if you want, but there's no mechanism within the app to find popular users. There used to be a "score" that you could see (I think you can only see your own score now), but that was based on how you used the app rather than how many friends you have. I'm not an incredibly social person and I'd never have more than a hundred or so Facebook friends, but I'd always feel a little uneasy whenever I saw how many friends another person had -- you can't help but compare them with yourself. On Snapchat I have no idea how many friends the average user has. It's just a window into the lives of the people you care about (as banal or entertaining as they are).

ocean3 11y ago
No mechanism to find popular users and no friend count seems like less pressure to look hip.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]