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Another crazy millennial here. I don't have an Instagram either, and frankly I don't want one. As for why HN hates Snap, I'm not exactly sure. Is it because th

by jdhn 9y ago

Another crazy millennial here. I don't have an Instagram either, and frankly I don't want one. As for why HN hates Snap, I'm not exactly sure. Is it because the average user on HN is older and isn't targeted by Snap? Maybe it's seen as a frivolous plaything? No matter what the reason, there's definitely a lot of hate for Snap on this site.

eganist 9y ago
My reasoning for loathing snap was their refusal to even allow a snap client for windows phone to exist.
- jdhn 9y ago
  There actually was an unofficial Snap client for Windows Phone for a time. I thought it was pretty good to be honest.
  - aplummer 9y ago
    6snap, also the same author as tinder and insta clones.
- electic 9y ago
  Sounds like they made the right choice because the platform collapsed. It makes no sense spending design and dev time on a platform that simply isn't taking off.
  - michaelbrooks 9y ago
    I think he's on about allowing a third party to create and support a Snapchat app for Windows devices. There was 6Snap which worked really well, but got shut down because Snap were forcing third parties to close their apps. Someone also created an open source app on Windows, but I'm not sure what happened to that one.
- JohnnyConatus 9y ago
  No more entries, we have a winner for the most obscure reason to dislike a social service.
  - michaelbrooks 9y ago
    I don't loathe Snap, but I do dislike their decision for not supporting Windows 10. Microsoft even offered a cash incentive to Snap for creating an app and Snap still outright said no. Surely no matter how much you hate a platform, if you're being offered an incentive, you would say yes?
    - daveFNbuck 9y ago
      There's a huge opportunity cost in putting some of your developers on creating an app for a niche market. Snap probably felt that Microsoft's incentive didn't cover that cost.
      - tazard 9y ago
        Not to mention maintenance and upkeep.
untilHellbanned 9y ago
It's because people at SNAP made a lot of money and {HN_user} did not.
- untilHellbanned 9y ago
  Downvoting doesn't make it false.
runeks 9y ago
> As for why HN hates Snap, I'm not exactly sure. Why must it be hate? Couldn't it just be, simply, that we're not that interested in yet another chat application? To me, Snap is a slightly modified ICQ client. Fine, but not very interesting. Real progress would be some sort of open standard, so who you're speaking with isn't determined by which company's chat server you connect to. But then again email has supported this for several decades already, so maybe the demand isn't there.
dingo_bat 9y ago
I have an android phone (S7 edge). Before I got this phone, I was a light user of snapchat. On the new phone, Whatsapp, Facebook and Instagram were pre-installed. I set them up, they started working perfectly. I downloaded snapchat. It crashed on login. I literally could not get it to work on my brand new flagship device. That's my reason. PS: also a millennial here, not very crazy though, regrettably
blubb-fish 9y ago
Confirmed - it's a frivolous plaything - very well put!
jeffdavis 9y ago
At first, I dismissed snapchat thinking "people will hack the protocol and save messages anyway, and the whole idea will fall apart". Then, I was a little envious that someone else had the idea, and I now think it was a good idea, and that I was blinded by an overly-technical analysis of their product. But it doesn't look like the couple good ideas they had were enough to make a long-term business. So, unless they do something cool in the next 12 months, RIP. Founders got a nice payday, so who cares?
afpx 9y ago
40 year old, here. I mainly use snap to play with filters with my young kids. I'd never use it for communication because the UX is horrendous. A while ago, there was an odd corporate push to try to use snap internally (was there some marketing push?). And, all of my co-workers spent lots of time brainstorming how to even use snap effectively. The swarms of 13 years olds that roam through my house only ever seem to use their mobile for Instagram, snap, and youtube. However, more recently I've noticed that the boys have been walking around with bluetooth headsets on as they have a large group chat going on in the background. Not sure what app they're using.
- colinprince 9y ago
  Discord is growing like crazy and their voice chat is easy to use and reliable for groups

by jdhn 9y ago

eganist 9y ago

My reasoning for loathing snap was their refusal to even allow a snap client for windows phone to exist.

jdhn 9y ago
There actually was an unofficial Snap client for Windows Phone for a time. I thought it was pretty good to be honest.
- aplummer 9y ago
  6snap, also the same author as tinder and insta clones.
electic 9y ago
Sounds like they made the right choice because the platform collapsed. It makes no sense spending design and dev time on a platform that simply isn't taking off.
- michaelbrooks 9y ago
  I think he's on about allowing a third party to create and support a Snapchat app for Windows devices. There was 6Snap which worked really well, but got shut down because Snap were forcing third parties to close their apps. Someone also created an open source app on Windows, but I'm not sure what happened to that one.
JohnnyConatus 9y ago
No more entries, we have a winner for the most obscure reason to dislike a social service.
- michaelbrooks 9y ago
  I don't loathe Snap, but I do dislike their decision for not supporting Windows 10. Microsoft even offered a cash incentive to Snap for creating an app and Snap still outright said no. Surely no matter how much you hate a platform, if you're being offered an incentive, you would say yes?
  - daveFNbuck 9y ago
    There's a huge opportunity cost in putting some of your developers on creating an app for a niche market. Snap probably felt that Microsoft's incentive didn't cover that cost.
    - tazard 9y ago
      Not to mention maintenance and upkeep.

untilHellbanned 9y ago

It's because people at SNAP made a lot of money and {HN_user} did not.

untilHellbanned 9y ago
Downvoting doesn't make it false.

runeks 9y ago

> As for why HN hates Snap, I'm not exactly sure. Why must it be hate? Couldn't it just be, simply, that we're not that interested in yet another chat application? To me, Snap is a slightly modified ICQ client. Fine, but not very interesting. Real progress would be some sort of open standard, so who you're speaking with isn't determined by which company's chat server you connect to. But then again email has supported this for several decades already, so maybe the demand isn't there.

dingo_bat 9y ago

I have an android phone (S7 edge). Before I got this phone, I was a light user of snapchat. On the new phone, Whatsapp, Facebook and Instagram were pre-installed. I set them up, they started working perfectly. I downloaded snapchat. It crashed on login. I literally could not get it to work on my brand new flagship device. That's my reason. PS: also a millennial here, not very crazy though, regrettably

blubb-fish 9y ago

Confirmed - it's a frivolous plaything - very well put!

jeffdavis 9y ago

At first, I dismissed snapchat thinking "people will hack the protocol and save messages anyway, and the whole idea will fall apart". Then, I was a little envious that someone else had the idea, and I now think it was a good idea, and that I was blinded by an overly-technical analysis of their product. But it doesn't look like the couple good ideas they had were enough to make a long-term business. So, unless they do something cool in the next 12 months, RIP. Founders got a nice payday, so who cares?

afpx 9y ago

40 year old, here. I mainly use snap to play with filters with my young kids. I'd never use it for communication because the UX is horrendous. A while ago, there was an odd corporate push to try to use snap internally (was there some marketing push?). And, all of my co-workers spent lots of time brainstorming how to even use snap effectively. The swarms of 13 years olds that roam through my house only ever seem to use their mobile for Instagram, snap, and youtube. However, more recently I've noticed that the boys have been walking around with bluetooth headsets on as they have a large group chat going on in the background. Not sure what app they're using.

colinprince 9y ago
Discord is growing like crazy and their voice chat is easy to use and reliable for groups