SnapChat :: Click
by Volker Weber
When the world goes crazy over something and I don't get it, I probably did not look hard enough. It's pretty normal that I don't understand something that everybody else seems to understand. Or the other way around. I tried SnapChat a couple of times and I did not get it. I always ended up deleting it.
A few days ago, I gave it another try. And this time I wanted it to click. And it did. It's like always. Do something a thousand times and you can master it.
Here is the thing about Snapchat: it's transitional. Nothing is kept forever. That means you don't care that much. You live in the now, not in the yesterday. There are two conversations: 1:1 and 1:n. In my first couple of Snapchat trials I was focussing on the 1:1 chats. Why would I want something to go away? And the other party could take a screenshot and stuff would not be safe, or would it. Completely wrong mindset.
This time I looked more at the 1:n conversations. Every Snapchat user has a "story". When you snap a video or a photo you can just add it to the story. Your story is 24 hours long. Things that are older than a day, they just go away. You keep on adding to the end. All your friends can tune into that story and replay it if they want to. They can also reply to the story at any given point in that story and open a 1:1 chat.
Here is the thing, that makes Snapchat so enjoyable: nothing is important. You don't obsess about style and composition. You just snap away. Videos are better than photos. Keep them short and just add them to the story. And just say what your thinking. It will be in your story.
And tomorrow it will be gone.
You can add me to your Snapchat. Either by snapping the photo above, or by username. Simple rules:
1. Be nice.
2. Have your full name on your account.
3. Maybe have a selfie on your account.
Break one of those rules and I am not playing.
I know this is really difficult to understand for some folks. So let me say this again. If your name field in your account does not contain your full name at the time you are inviting me to your party, then I am not coming.
