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Snapchat is the medium that most closely represents a real life conversation - between individuals, between friend groups, between performers & fans, etc. That'

Snapchat is the medium that most closely represents a real life conversation - between individuals, between friend groups, between performers & fans, etc. That's why it's popular and will continue to be so. The beauty of Snapchat is that you don't need to think about what you are posting: It's ephemeral, it's kept close to the vest (you choose explicitly who sees it), and above all, it's without reservation. I don't consider the appropriateness of my content because I choose exactly who receives it, just like how in real life you probably speak differently around your friends than you do your co-workers, or your family, without really thinking about it. Snapchat provides a medium for users to share content without the baggage of social validation that other networks like Twitter and Facebook are beholden to (intentionally and unintentionally). Nobody can see how popular your content is but yourself, and you control the reach down to the individual. No other content network is like this. Plus, you can draw bunny ears on people.

gjolund 10y ago
"The beauty of Snapchat is that you don't need to think about what you are posting" Exactly why it holds no value at all for me.
- dwaltrip 10y ago
  What the poster meant with that statement is that you don't need worry or obsess about the long term reaction of all your hundreds or thousands of followers/friends/acquaintances and what they will think the way you do with something like Facebook (really any other network). In my opinion, this is a major problem with those sites. You automatically and subconsciously become your own personal "brand manager" and "self-marketing team", and are subjected the output of everyone else on the network who is doing the same thing. It's greatly magnified version of the old "you only see everyone else's highlight reel" dynamic. A lot of studies are coming out with interesting results on this and related issues. On Snapchat, the communications are all shortly lost to the sands of time, like most real-world interactions. This has a big effect on how people orient themselves with the app. I'm not saying it is or isn't worth $XX billion, but it's not something to disregard without any thought.
robwilliams 10y ago
I just recently got into Snapchat. My fiance and I just snap each other during downtime at work, nothing major. It's a lot of fun but I'm not sure how they could monetize it beyond the sponsored filters they have now.

gjolund 10y ago

"The beauty of Snapchat is that you don't need to think about what you are posting" Exactly why it holds no value at all for me.

dwaltrip 10y ago
What the poster meant with that statement is that you don't need worry or obsess about the long term reaction of all your hundreds or thousands of followers/friends/acquaintances and what they will think the way you do with something like Facebook (really any other network). In my opinion, this is a major problem with those sites. You automatically and subconsciously become your own personal "brand manager" and "self-marketing team", and are subjected the output of everyone else on the network who is doing the same thing. It's greatly magnified version of the old "you only see everyone else's highlight reel" dynamic. A lot of studies are coming out with interesting results on this and related issues. On Snapchat, the communications are all shortly lost to the sands of time, like most real-world interactions. This has a big effect on how people orient themselves with the app. I'm not saying it is or isn't worth $XX billion, but it's not something to disregard without any thought.

robwilliams 10y ago

I just recently got into Snapchat. My fiance and I just snap each other during downtime at work, nothing major. It's a lot of fun but I'm not sure how they could monetize it beyond the sponsored filters they have now.