Why I Love Snapchat!

I know I’ve talked about social media a lot as of late. Don’t worry, I won’t linger much longer on this topic. However, I wanted to share with you my thoughts on Snapchat and why I believe it’s the next Twitter.

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For a couple of years my sisters have tried to get me to join Snapchat. “It’s great!” they said, “You can send an image or a short video to somebody for 10 seconds and it doesn’t eat up storage on your phone.” My first thoughts were, “this is really stupid why would anybody want to use this?”

Fast forward to 2 weeks ago and I was listening to Cliff Ravenscraft the Podcast Answerman and he recommended if you’re not on Snapchat you must start today. So, after waiting several years, I finally bit the bullet and signed up for Snapchat. (if you’re searching for me, you can find me @jbsisam.)

I’m here to tell you, I love Snapchat! Let me explain why.

The New Twitter?

1. Snapchat is fun. It’s always fun to begin something new. I’ve been using Snapchat for about three weeks. And in that time, I found I can use this app to communicate with people I normally would never be able to have a face to face conversation with.

• Take Cliff Ravenscraft (@cliffeotc) for instance. We’ve had small 10 sec conversations back and forth on small topics. It’s been fun getting to know him.
• I can talk with my sisters and send photos back and forth instantly.
• I can chat back and forth with friends without using up anyone’s texting limits.

2. Snapchat is an easy way to communicate with your tribe. What I’ve fallen in love with is the fact that I can create what’s called a story. These stories are comprised of multiple 10 second clips or photos. (Example below.) This is a great way to share with your tribe what life is like in-between the blog posts.  Give them something to walk away with. Nuggets of wisdom, a quote, a thought. Make it simple and make it memorable.

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3. Snapchat is super easy to use. Let me first start by saying, some of the user interface is not user-intuitive. That being said, once you sign up and open the app, you’ll find a large picture taking button at the bottom. Touch the button and you have your first snap to share with a friend.

4. Millennials get it. Today’s generation is all about connecting. Twitter is out because it’s all about promoting business and blog posts now. Facebook is still going strong, but will fade because it’s not as instant. Snapchat is instant communication in 10 second bites. Easier to be on Snapchat than Facebook all day. And this millennial generation understands that.

Here’s a simple guide on how to use.

• Swipe top down and that brings up the menu. Here you can add friends, search your current friends or see who’s added you. You’ll also find at the top right a gear icon. That’ your account settings.

• Swipe from left to right and you’ll see a list of recent contacts.

• Swipe right to left and you’ll find the stories area. This is where you’ll find your story and anyone else who’s posted a story. And this is where my community will find my story, as long as they’re following me on Snapchat.

Some warnings.

• Every snap requires location settings to be turned on. Now, you can choose not to broadcast where you are, then choose not to share your location. I personally do not.
• Do not, and I mean this seriously… do not snap and drive. It can always wait. Be safe on the road and your family will thank you.
• Don’t add people you don’t know as friends. They can follow you, but if you don’t know them, they’ll clutter up your inbox and it’s wise to get to know people first before adding them as friends. Again, be safe – this especially goes for children.
• Parents make sure you follow your children and know their account passwords. This really goes for all accounts online. We must protect our children.

Give Snapchat a try. I’m sure you’ll find enjoyment out of it. I believe this will become the next Twitter. Already there have been over 400,000,000 snaps taken since it’s inception in 2011. Already, Millennials are gravitating towards using Snapchat more than Facebook and Twitter combined. We as business owners, pastors or authors should get on this band wagon before we’re left in the dust.

[reminder]Have you used Snapchat yet? What are your thoughts and do you agree with my assessment?[/reminder]