Live data from Hacker News

Snapchat’s product is booming

bigtechnology.substack.com

11–20 of 187 posts

Re: Snapchat’s product is booming

#11
post #9

What I've noticed in the past two years... my daughters friends mother had it on her phone, her daughter showed my daughter the app when we were having lunch. They were trying on 'masks' and various filters. The kids get a real kick out of it, and taking pictures of the adults. My wife installed it on her phone, and likewise when we have met other families the kids have done the same. It's not used for any messaging…

Agreed. I've seen the app used by so many kids as nothing more than a camera toy. The parents didn't actually use the app.

Re: Snapchat’s product is booming

#13
Millennials, the first generation to grow up with social media, loved broadcasting their lives. Gen Y was more ambivalent. Gen Z kind of hates it.

Wait, what? I thought Gen Y was the placeholder name until Millennial stuck.

greatest, lost, boomer, gen X, millennial, gen Z

Re: Snapchat’s product is booming

#14

Serious question, who actually uses Snapchat? I haven't heard it mentioned anywhere in at least six months.

Cam girls use it as an upsell, sending dirty pics and sexting. It's great for that sort of flirty business because of the lack of persistence. No receipts.

Re: Snapchat’s product is booming

#15
I don't mean this to be mean, but do people really believe these active user counts at face value?

I personally see these numbers and assume half are bots or controlled marketing accounts to boost viewers or spam comments. Just going off personal experience using these sort of apps.

Re: Snapchat’s product is booming

#16

Serious question, who actually uses Snapchat? I haven't heard it mentioned anywhere in at least six months.

It is more like more humans than bots are using Snapchat. Unlike the rest of the other platforms plagued by tons of bots doing nothing but spamming, scamming, etc its seems to have prevented that and optimised their product to be used by actual humans.

It's quite a difference, but isn't surprising to see and may also explain the rise in users, given the unlikelihood of millions of bots ruining and inflating the usage numbers.

But once again as I predicted, it is far from dying, [0] or even going to allow itself to getting acquired. [1]. In fact, they are the ones continuing to acquire more companies.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27628706

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29020758

Re: Snapchat’s product is booming

#17

I don't mean this to be mean, but do people really believe these active user counts at face value? I personally see these numbers and assume half are bots or controlled marketing accounts to boost viewers or spam comments. Just going off personal experience using these sort of apps.

Certainly there are many, many bots. BUT, I have personally noticed a resurgence in snapchat popularity. It did indeed die, but it came back after (I think) people have gotten burnt out on the super public nature of Instagram.

Snapchat is more amenable to having a "persona". If you make an second account on Instagram, Instagram will literally start recommending it to the followers of your main account.

So Snapchat just allows for a use case that Instagram simply does not. Instagram is the new Facebook. They are not friendly to being anonymous or pseudonymous.

Re: Snapchat’s product is booming

#18

Serious question, who actually uses Snapchat? I haven't heard it mentioned anywhere in at least six months.

The answer is in the article. Young people do.

How old are you?

No one I know uses it, but that makes sense to me. I'm internet-old now.

Re: Snapchat’s product is booming

#19

Millennials, the first generation to grow up with social media, loved broadcasting their lives. Gen Y was more ambivalent. Gen Z kind of hates it. Wait, what? I thought Gen Y was the placeholder name until Millennial stuck. greatest, lost, boomer, gen X, millennial, gen Z

You are right

Re: Snapchat’s product is booming

#20

Serious question, who actually uses Snapchat? I haven't heard it mentioned anywhere in at least six months.

I'm 31, male, SWE, Danish.

I use it a couple of times a day and have done for years. Primarily to keep up with close and loose friends from high school ect. Pictures from friends everyday life that are not necessarily meant to provoke a response still keep you in the loop and not drift apart.

Post reply on HN