This post was p_osted on May 26, 2016 on my previous blog, that now doesn’t exist. A lot changed since then and instagram stories are BIGGGG! It’s fun to look back._
Unless you’ve lived under the rock, you heard about Snapchat. You know that ‘small’ startup that captures things that immediately disappear. ‘What a crazy idea’? is a typical reaction, followed by confusion why would anyone use that. Because it was about capturing moments for our parents and grandparents. It was all about having something to show in future.
Year ago I didn’t think I would ever wrote that kind of post. I was in the camp of capture moments forever, to show future generations. But couple months of playing and I was hooked. I saw advantages over the conventional social networks. Yes, Facebook, I am talking about you 😉
I present you things that made me fall in love with Snapchat. I don’t know if it was original idea behind this app, but in my case it works that way and that’s why it’s awesome.
Intimacy
There is something intimate about sending and watching snaps. You are getting inside people life, especially with videos. You are there in the moment, in those 10 seconds, to be part of event they take part. It’s completely different interaction than feed. You are not scrolling through hundreds of posts, which are mostly ads or new posts from Facebook page you liked years ago. The experience is just smoother and you are more engaged, because it doesn’t feel like you get the stuff that everyone gets. Think about future of technology, try to visualize Snapchat VR. Overall, it just appeals to human curious nature.
Conversation starter
My friends who don’t own account are quite surprised when I tell them there are no likes. How do you know you don’t post shitty things, which people hate? As a user of Facebook and Instagram I found myself sometimes deleting thing if they didn’t get any attention(likes). You won’t delete posts if you have no idea how good they are doing. That makes you also more active and less caring about how much to post. There is also another benefit of lacking this particular feature. When people respond to something on typical social network, they get closure, they gave reaction or comment as a part of group and case closed. Just think for a second about times you were asked in REAL LIFE about your snap vs. facebook post.
Pure
No photoshopping.No careful selection from 1000 shots.No special effects and countless filters to choose from.No montage.
It doesn’t show distorted reality you are used to on other apps. That still is such small slice of life of person but you don’t have to own expensive equipment, software to succeed in making cool clips of your life. Having limited possibilities suddenly makes you more creative.
Enjoy life
Snapchat encourages you to enjoy life. It’s hard to create good snapchat account by just sitting in front of computer or bathroom mirror. You have to go outside, meet with friends, go to some music concert or sport event. You have to be constantly in lookout for adventure.
It’s something that other apps miss. They would love you to be there in front of screen posting pictures of cats or latest Game of Thrones spoiler. Snapchat doesn’t feel like he want to chain you to phone and make you prisoner of sweet digital reality.
Photo by Redd Angelo on Unsplash
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Przemysław Mroczek (@przemekmroczek) | Twitter_The latest Tweets from Przemysław Mroczek (@przemekmroczek). Humanist turned Developer. Startup enthusiast. Warsaw_twitter.com