What is Snapchat?
Snapchat is a smartphone application used to share messages between friends called Snaps that contain videos and photos with captions. The primary way of using Snapchat results in messages, images, and videos being deleted automatically after being viewed. The sender of an image or video decides how long the recipient can view the image, from one second to ten seconds.
Snapchat also has fun and useful image annotation tools that allow a user to make notes and draw on an image before sending it. Similar to the filters feature that made Instagram a popular service, Snapchat's image drawing and
Snapchat compared to other social networks.
Created by a group of Stanford students who wanted to build a multimedia sharing application that didn't save any of the shared content, the idea resulted in Snapchat. Other social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn keep a user's photos, videos, updates and other shared content as part of the user's history of activity on the social networking site.
As a result, all of a person's activity on a traditional social network becomes a historical journal. Snapchat's appeal is the fact that anything that's shared typically destroyed, and there is no personal history for anyone to view.
Like other social networking applications, users establish connections with an invitation. The invited user has to accept the invitation in order for two people to share anything with each other. Once two people connect, they can send and receive Snapchat videos, photos, and text messages with each other.
The combination of using a way to share with both parties agreeing to connect along with the limited time that any shared content is available to view a more private and personal type of social network. Privacy and un-saved content why Snapchat has grown so rapidly.
However, as Snapchat has grown, it has added additional sharing options for its users where the content is not deleted automatically after being viewed.
Other sharing options with Snapchat
Replay: The replay feature allows a user to replay a previously deleted Snap. In any 24-hour period, a user can only use Replay once.
Stories: In addition to an individual video or photo message, it's possible to share collections of images and videos with a group of friends. Called a “Story” these messages can be viewed an unlimited number of times for a 24-hour period before being automatically deleted.
Text: With the May 2014 update, users can text chat with other users, as well as start a video chat if both parties are available at the same time and press a button that says "Here" to let the other know they want to chat.
Our Stories (meaning Stories created by Snapchat or partners)
Another way Snapchat is used is to follow activities where users have set the privacy settings to allow public sharing of personal Stories. Certain events such as music concerts often have many Snapchat users in attendance. Snapchat uses public Stories from all of the users and creates a Story from all of the user's shared content. A recent Star Wars convention in Anaheim was a Snapchat story, and viewers could see videos taken by Snapchat users who attended the event almost as soon as the videos were taken.
Snapchat has media partners that also create Stories about news and other content. These media outlets include CNN, National Geographic, and Cosmopolitan Magazine. Like a televisions channel, these outlets each add from three to ten stories to feature on Snapchat and are updated every 24 hours. So Snapchat is a way for people to keep up with current events.
Snapchat and pornography
Snapchat's early use had a reputation for inappropriate and illegal messages, often involving minors who used Snapchat to send nude photos. Snapchat has taken action to address these issues and keep the service safe and legal. Snapchat advises users that Snapchat is about sharing moments and fun and spell out what's not allowed, which includes nudity, pornography, threats, harassment, impersonation, self-harm and other rules which could result in the removal of content and prohibiting someone from using Snapchat.
Snapchat's investors want it to be a safe app for people to use in order to attract advertisers as Snapchat opens up opportunities to display ads and give advertisers the ability to reach the user community.
To my way of thinking
Using Snapchat helps you to share quickly and communicate everyday life events with friends and family in a much more private way than other social media. While Snapchat offers some useful features that contribute to more private communications, remember that once an image, video, or message has been sent. It's no longer a secret and could be copied or shared by the recipient.
Like all social networking apps, who you know that are using it will likely determine whether it's an app that makes sense for you.
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