Snap it! In 2011, creators of the on-growing app Snapchat, Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, became billionaires with in time by creating this social media addiction. Spiegel has become the youngest billionaire in the world, Murphy following right behind him with 1.8 billion in earnings. The two met in Stanford University and struck a home-run when they designed this free app, which little did they know at the time, changed their entire lives.
As many college students know, Snapchat is an app that allows you to send texts, pictures and videos that self destruct within a short amount of seconds. Although the app is focused towards teens and adults, many age groups have grown interested in it too. Celebrities have used it to form a closer relationship with fans, Youtube sensations found it useful to provide more personal giveaways and a closer look into their daily lives. Events like Fashion Week in New York, Coachella Music Festival, The VMA’s and other events have all been a part of Snapchat, sharing a private insight of whats going on through out every moment of the special affair. It is definitely a more personal network that allows people to see more of your personality and lifestyle.
Selfies have reached another level with the different variety of filters and face decoration possibilities. Snapchat has kept the audience attached by constantly adding new updates. Facebook and Instagram have fallen short when comparing its purpose versus Snapchats. People are becoming obsessed with how quickly an image or video erases, no need to worry about posing on your best side when it deletes within seconds. The notifications that Snapchat provides also keeps the supporters involved, you are quickly informed if someone took a picture of your quick snap or if someone replayed your message. Unlike Facebook and Instagram, you will be informed if someone is lurking or stalking your account. This snapping craze has taken social media towards a different direction.
Though Snapchat is focused on sharing moments for a number of seconds, you can choose to share a moment for 24 hours. You also have the option of saving your saved snaps to your photo album; making those 24 hours a memorable collage. Around 7 billion people are engaged in this app. 70 percent of users are women and 77 percent of users are college students with around 400 million snaps sent daily.
In order to keep Snapchat current it is said that videos will be extended to a maximum time of 15 to 20 seconds instead of the 10 second limit it has now, giving more time for users to share more. Also, the possibility to prioritize peoples stories and rank from most to least important can improve the app. It is clear that Snapchat is growing and is constantly being used within college students. Sharing every moment has become an obsession within generations, this billion dollar company continues to add improvements to make each snap worthwhile.