Why I love Snapchat • Hacker News Board

Re: Why I love Snapchat

#71

Post by c1ehman » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 10:55 PM UTC

nmat wrote: post #41

minimaxir wrote: post #12

The problem I have with Snapchat is that there are many deliberate, counterintuitive UI/UX decisions which make the app hard to use. This causes a lot of bad post-hoc rationalization from many startups that "Snapchat is a multibillion dollar startup, and they have these bad UX features, therefore if we have these X features we will be successful too!" And thus the startup ecosystem as a whole gets dragged down.

The bad UI generates a sort of viral effect. I know a lot of young kids who use snapchat and often the conversation starts with 'How did you do that effect on that video?' or 'How do you send a text message without a picture?'. Snapchat is one of few apps that has a lot of hidden features for power users that are not explained anywhere. I am not saying that it is a good thing, but it makes people talk about it.

This is definitely one of the reasons I enjoy it and continue to use it daily. Their are a lot of cool things that I am still learning how to do even after using the app for more than a year.

Re: Why I love Snapchat

#72

Post by gragas » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 10:55 PM UTC

jmduke wrote: post #25

I was about to make a snarky comment disagreeing with Justin -- as one of those folks who can't deal with Snapchat, I think it's a weird encapsulation of a lot of my complaints of newer social apps. The UX feels deliberately confusing and disorienting; it promotes a culture of manufactured intimacy; I have to deal with a bunch of software developers thinking they're hip by saying 'bless up' and flooding their social…

I'm 19. Reading Justin's post and your comment makes me squirm. The formality of actually writing paragraphs to describe how you feel contrasts with Snapchat so much. But the thing is, there's nothing wrong with being formal like that. And there's nothing wrong with Snapchat and key emojis.

The overwhelming impression I get from your post is either 1) you don't understand Snapchat, or 2) you understand Snapchat, but you're too embroiled in the "high culture" of Hacker News to be able to appreciate both forms of communication.

I appreciate Hacker News because it is a place where I can read and write paragraphs. I appreciate Snapchat for other reasons. That's where I think many people get lost:

You don't always have to be serious. At the same time, you don't always have to bless up.

I think being able to understand both worlds is key. Major key.

Re: Why I love Snapchat

#73

Post by schwap » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 11:03 PM UTC

angryasian wrote: post #68

ethagknight wrote: post #65

I love Snapchat Stories. I always have a minute's worth of video in my story. I love it because, unlike Twitter, Facebook/Instagram and the rest, I can overpost to my hearts content, and people can totally ignore it if they want to. Most of my family does the same, and its fun to see. I can post videos of my children doing stupid things that no one cares about or wants to see but my parents and grandparents. Oh, that…

Out of curiosity, Im not user so this might be ignorant, but why can't people ignore your posts on Twitter, Facebook/Instagram. Are you just referring to notifications ? I do get the point of the psychological barrier and the problem of broadcasting likes, retweets, comments etc. I think some people will say "what if no one responds" then why would I put this out there, and stop them from putting out something that m…

The difference with snapchat is (as Justin notes) there's no central "stream" to worry about cluttering. If you have friend a that is prolific and friend b that only occasionally updates a's activity doesn't trample over b's.

Re: Why I love Snapchat

#74

Post by SpaceCadetJones » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 11:10 PM UTC

soneca wrote: post #3

"The cost of content creation is extremely low, and Snapchat makes it fun to think about what aspects of what I’m doing every day might be cool for other people to see." But what is the reward of content creation? Honest question. How do a user feel their effort in posting was worthy? I never used Snapchat, so I don't get it much. Although I'm for sure not dismissive as some, I just never tried it.

To contrast with some other snarky responses, for me Snapchat has very little to do with "social validation". Personally snapchat is another tool for me to connect with people. I get to see what people are up to on their shared stories, we exchange cool/funny things we see, and my musical friends and I exchange short videos of what we're working on. It's a little more humanizing than pure text chat. I only text/chat with a few people on a regular basis, but there's about 10 people I exchange snapchats with pretty frequently. It's a nice way to keep in touch, and it's a platform I tend to share on more than Facebook. The content is only there for 24 hours, and is only seen by the ~50 people I added rather than the 800 on Facebook.

Re: Why I love Snapchat

#75

Post by ethagknight » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 11:16 PM UTC

angryasian wrote: post #68

ethagknight wrote: post #65

I love Snapchat Stories. I always have a minute's worth of video in my story. I love it because, unlike Twitter, Facebook/Instagram and the rest, I can overpost to my hearts content, and people can totally ignore it if they want to. Most of my family does the same, and its fun to see. I can post videos of my children doing stupid things that no one cares about or wants to see but my parents and grandparents. Oh, that…

Out of curiosity, Im not user so this might be ignorant, but why can't people ignore your posts on Twitter, Facebook/Instagram. Are you just referring to notifications ? I do get the point of the psychological barrier and the problem of broadcasting likes, retweets, comments etc. I think some people will say "what if no one responds" then why would I put this out there, and stop them from putting out something that m…

Referring to core product, 'the feed.' I've had a terrible experience with Facebook. The more i curate, the more it seems to send me cruft from people i do not know. I started using Facebook back in 2004 when they opened up to all college students, and it was cool to friend everyone I've ever met, so that legacy certainly impacts my experience on FB.

With Twitter and Instagram's linear feed, I have to seasonally follow/unfollow people (whom i care about and want to follow!) based on the current sport season, they just had a baby, or whatever and they decide to binge post. Not just once, but for a literal season.

Now, I use them all, and they all have strengths and weaknesses, but Snapchat is the only one i really love to use. Its not a polar argument.

Re: Why I love Snapchat

#76

Post by angryasian » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 11:19 PM UTC

schwap wrote: post #73

angryasian wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, Im not user so this might be ignorant, but why can't people ignore your posts on Twitter, Facebook/Instagram. Are you just referring to notifications ? I do get the point of the psychological barrier and the problem of broadcasting likes, retweets, comments etc. I think some people will say "what if no one responds" then why would I put this out there, and stop them from putting out something that m…

The difference with snapchat is (as Justin notes) there's no central "stream" to worry about cluttering. If you have friend a that is prolific and friend b that only occasionally updates a's activity doesn't trample over b's.

Understandable but you could do that on twitter, just go directly to that users profile and see everything they've posted.

Re: Why I love Snapchat

#77

Post by angryasian » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 11:20 PM UTC

ethagknight wrote: post #75

angryasian wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, Im not user so this might be ignorant, but why can't people ignore your posts on Twitter, Facebook/Instagram. Are you just referring to notifications ? I do get the point of the psychological barrier and the problem of broadcasting likes, retweets, comments etc. I think some people will say "what if no one responds" then why would I put this out there, and stop them from putting out something that m…

Referring to core product, 'the feed.' I've had a terrible experience with Facebook. The more i curate, the more it seems to send me cruft from people i do not know. I started using Facebook back in 2004 when they opened up to all college students, and it was cool to friend everyone I've ever met, so that legacy certainly impacts my experience on FB. With Twitter and Instagram's linear feed, I have to seasonally foll…

sorry if I'm misunderstanding, but i still don't understand how its different from going to a users profile directly on instagram or twitter, to see only what they posted.

Re: Why I love Snapchat

#78

Post by samsam1 » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 11:21 PM UTC

onewaystreet wrote: post #50

minimaxir wrote: post #12

The problem I have with Snapchat is that there are many deliberate, counterintuitive UI/UX decisions which make the app hard to use. This causes a lot of bad post-hoc rationalization from many startups that "Snapchat is a multibillion dollar startup, and they have these bad UX features, therefore if we have these X features we will be successful too!" And thus the startup ecosystem as a whole gets dragged down.

I often see people over 20 complain about Snapchat's UI/UX, and yet the app has millions of daily users. I don't think it's successful in spite of its UI/UX, so there is something to be learned there if you are developing a new social app.

I think you're right. I'm 28 and have noticed a lot of people my age complain about the UI/UX. Obviously this is anecdotal but people 25yo and under seem to 'get it'.

I personally like the UI/UX, and think it's advanced. I'm incorporating some of its elements in my own work. I for one am pretty tired of lists, lists, and more lists. I've read somewhere that the UI/UX was built in a 'Japanese style'. I dont know if that's true but it's interesting.

I think where there's room for improvement is just introducing the features and explaining how the unconventional navigation works.

Re: Why I love Snapchat

#79

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 11:35 PM UTC

goldenchrome wrote: post #62

I don't know what to say. I think OP did a good job of explaining what makes Snapchat so great, but their initial confusion and the confusion from the commenters within this thread boggles me. Recently I was in a room with a well-known VC who wouldn't believe a college student who said that they enjoy using Snapchat, as if they couldn't comprehend how anyone would like it. Virtually all the comments are about how Sna…

[deleted]

Re: Why I love Snapchat

#80

Post by justin » Thu, Jan 07, 2016, 11:36 PM UTC

goldenchrome wrote: post #62

I don't know what to say. I think OP did a good job of explaining what makes Snapchat so great, but their initial confusion and the confusion from the commenters within this thread boggles me. Recently I was in a room with a well-known VC who wouldn't believe a college student who said that they enjoy using Snapchat, as if they couldn't comprehend how anyone would like it. Virtually all the comments are about how Sna…

My initial confusion came from 1) not immediately understanding how the UI worked, 2) not being that interested in learning because few of my social network were one it. Once I invested a few minutes in understanding it out I loved it. I think the same would be true for many other people who "don't get it".