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Introducing Snapchat: Should it really be a Social Network?

Snapchat


"One of the principal concepts of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are only available for a short time before they become inaccessible." 

 "The app has evolved from originally focusing on person-to-person photo sharing to presently featuring Stories" of 24-hour chronological content, along with "Discover" to let brands show ad-supported short-form entertainment."

 Source: Wikipedia

 These are the definitions that appear on Wikipedia when you look up Snapchat. My goal this week is to understand Snapchat. When it first arrived, I downloaded the app and it seemed to make sense.  I've never enjoyed taking selfies so I didn't use it much. Now the app looks a lot different and is very confusing; I'm not really sure what I'm looking at when I open it to be honest! But alas, in listening to the Voicethread this morning we are encouraged to share which new tool we will try this week. Mine is Snapchat. I vow to understand it, or at least to try.

 My first goal was to understand why people use Snapchat. I wanted to come at this from both an education and social perspective. In the article, Teens and social media: A case study of high school students’ informal learning practices and trajectories. (Bagdy, L. M., Dennen, V. P., Rutledge, S. A., Rowlett, J. T., Burnick, S., & Joyce, S, in press) one case study mentions a high school girl following famous athletes on both Instagram and Snapchat for the purpose of seeing their trainings and drills. This was not something I knew people used Snapchat for. I always just assumed it was used for the silly pictures that I saw. This seems to be another way people can get tips, share information or messages across a social platform.

 In my quest for finding out more about the goals of Snapchat, I found a very interesting article that highlights Snapchat's original purpose as a camera, not a social network. This article focuses on why Snapchat's unique quality, it's augmented reality technology, is exactly why it should not be a social network. It goes on to say that by trying to compete with other social networks like Instagram it is actually hurting itself; Snapchat should instead be focusing on the thing it does really well: take pictures. The article makes a fun comparison of Snapchat to Polaroid.  You can check out the full article from Wired.com here.

 This highlights Snapchats other, less educational goals: to be social and take pictures. The filters make for fun, enjoyable photos that you can't get anywhere else. When you're in certain locations or at special events you can get specific filters and these are more ways to be social, share your location, or connect with others. 

 These are the reasons I've found why people use Snapchat. If you're a regular Snapchat user, I'm curious to know, do you think Snapchat should stop trying to be a social network, and stick to just a camera??

 If you're also new to Snapchat this Snapchat How-To Guide from Hootsuite is how I plan to get started on Snapchat this week.

 Happy Monday everyone!

Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 3, 2018 at 5:47 PM

    I have the same sentiment when it comes to snapchat. I don't see it too much as a social media network, and more just to quickly send photos (mostly to my Mom). I don't normally sit and watch people's stories and only check the app when I get a direct message.

    I admit it is fun to snap silly photos and sending those to close friends and family and that's why I keep it around!

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  2. Pamela Monroe July 4, 2018 at 2:55 PM

    I have a 15-year old, need I say more. While we may not want to look at it as social media network (because we are adults) the youth of today may have other plans. All social interactions don't have to be verbal a picture (or snap) can be worth 1000 words. It is a different type of social network that still brings people together...even over silly photos.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownJuly 5, 2018 at 2:55 AM

    Leah, great post! While I've never thought Snapchat to not be a social media network, your post did make me question why I always assumed it was social media. I think it depends on the specific users point of view, much like Pamela pointed out in her comment above. I don't only share photos (snaps) via Snapchat, I also share chats (text-based messages) replying to what Snapchatters have either sent me or storied. I've also had conversations through the app, therefor increasing the social aspect of this Web 2.0 tool. For example, I've gotten questions about meals I've posted to my story, as people inquire about the recipe and the steps I took to make the meal I photographed that looks so yummy! Overall the classification is in the eye of the beholder.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownJuly 6, 2018 at 6:24 AM

    While I see your point about Snapchat being more camera than social media network, I have to disagree for the fact that the Web 2.0 era and particularly the social media tools that have spawned have fundamentally changed the way we communicate. I blogged about the language of social media this week and how the technology has altered the written word. We now use acronyms and abbreviations as shorthand during conversations. We convey all sorts of emotions through emojis and can communicate through GIFs. Granted this is not the high intellectual discourse you would find in an academic journal, but that's not the role that social media is trying to fill (at this time). Right now it is more about connecting with others over the average day to day stuff and I think Snapchat provides a platform for people to do that.

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