Snapchat has made its first move into the realm of social media after introducing “Snapchat Stories” on their blog Thursday. Stories will allow users to add multiple snaps from the past 24 hours together into “My Story,” which can then be shared with friends as a narrative of what they have done or seen that day. The new component adds dimension to the app known for sending pictures to friends for 10 seconds or less before disappearing.
Stories could put Snapchat in closer competition with big shots like Facebook and Twitter by allowing Snapchatters to create a more complex and complete rolling update of their day-to-day life. Users decide which snaps will be added to their Story, and, unlike pictures, the Stories do not disappear after being tapped. In fact, they can be watched multiple times, much like a YouTube video of Instagrams that is updated throughout the day, conveniently located on the “My Friends” screen, much like a Facebook Profile and News Feed wrapped into one.
Image courtesy of The Verge
Snapchat users received a snap from Team Snapchat Thursday using a video by music group Goldroom to demonstrate the new feature, which is being rolled out in an update simultaneously for iOS and Android. After updating, users can add a new picture or video to their Story from the camera screen. The media chosen to be added to the Story are then combined in what looks like one big snap, but it appears next to the user’s name on the “My Friends” screen along with a circular thumbnail from the most recent snap, where it can be viewed multiple times for 24 hours. After viewing a friends’ snap, users then have the option to reply to their Story – a unique and private way to provide feedback.
In an interview with The Verge, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel points out that this method of sharing insight into a user’s daily activities doesn’t have the pressure of posting to and maintaining a Facebook profile “persona.” With a quick, simple, and temporary view into friends’ daily lives, do you think Stories will help or hurt Snapchat?
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Great article! I’m glad you covered this topic. I think it will help Snapchat but it could get old quickly if people start abusing this power by continually posting and posting for too long.
I don’t think snapchat stories will help or hurt snapchat either way but I don’t see them being used. The whole point of snapchat is pictures that disappear so why stray away from that? I wonder if they will add onto this in the future