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Introducing the new Snapchat

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171–180 of 212 posts

Re: Introducing the new Snapchat

#171

Evan of Snapchat talks about “performing for your friends” as a strange “side effect” of Snapchat. But the instinct to perform is native to the Snapchat medium. I think this is a problem. I went to a concert a few weeks ago. The people beside me would stand still for 10 minutes and then someone would pull out Snapchat. The whole group would turn around, flash a smile and start dancing for the camera. 9 seconds later,…

> Adjusting Snapchat’s interface will do nothing to address the intrinsic ways that Snapchat reorients our relationships around performance.

Do you think this is something Snapchat should even care about? How is Snapchat nudging you? Is it more insidious than somebody saying "say cheese!" before snapping a photo?

Re: Introducing the new Snapchat

#172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think HN is quick to overlook the potential positives of this dynamic, so I'll play devil's advocate here. Maybe the Instagram experience is how people actually want to behave? And it gives them a chance to express that ideal self. In other words, it's like the phone is a magic wand, and when it's pointed at them, it's suddenly socially-acceptable to break out of their shell and act silly. Obviously it's weird that…

I can sort of acquiesce here, due to me being a data point of one applying a theory to a userbase of millions. But since they likely spend more time as one version of themselves - when no camera is pointed at them - and less time as the on-camera version, I'd argue that the latter is less authentic. It's a bit like using alcohol (ie, the camera) as a crutch to give yourself permission to loosen up in social situation…

Why does it matter so much if its authentic? What value does authenticity really give? I'm certainly not advocating for a wholesale change in your character, but it feels good to sometimes act out of character, or to curate experiences and present them to your friends (or the world, depending on what you seek)

Re: Introducing the new Snapchat

#173
post #4

The anti-social-media stance they're taking is probably well informed given their target audience is growing a substantial aversion to oversharing on the long-lived-net and would rather overshare on the ephemeral-net. Their stock isn't necessarily enjoying it as much as they'd probably hoped. I might speculatively buy in if it seems like it's not a Digg v4

I just bought some - I’m considering snap another case of what Facebook went through. Very well informed about their user, lots of talent working for them, tons of users. However, I think their success will need to come from tailored paid content (also read, they need to collect more data on their users). Note: this is not investment advice.

Agreed.

Just to add clarity to my earlier post: I did pull the trigger and take a long position in snap. We'll see how it goes; I've still essentially written off the principal as a loss, but if there's an inflection point, I suspect it'll be here.

(likewise none of my commentary here is investment advice)

Re: Introducing the new Snapchat

#174
post #39

Is this thing still a total bandwidth hog and downloading all snaps in alphabetical order instead the videos I want to see? This app was unusable in countries with low bandwidth like e.g. the Philippines. This is why Instagram wins... Instagram is really really great engineering and testing. I would even say it's one of the best optimized mobile apps out there.

Go to settings->manage and toggle Travel Mode on.

Seconding this. Took snapchat to Sulawesi and had no issues.

Re: Introducing the new Snapchat

#175

Wait, what's even different? Serious question.

I'm also wondering this. I don't use snapchat much, but from what the video showed in the article the "new snapchat" sounds exactly like the current snapchat. What am I missing here?

Re: Introducing the new Snapchat

#177

There is an interesting article by Dan Kaplan on "Why Snapchat is Losing To Facebook And The Strategy It Can Use To Win" [1]. It is an amazing read for anyone interested. In the post, the author outlines a strategy which Snap can use to regain its relevance and importance in the social space. The author mentions how Snap can rebrand itself as a "self-expression company" that respects users' humanity. Interesting to s…

Definitely interesting. It's an especially strong proposition these days, when cybersecurity and privacy are so heavily emphasized. My main concern is that I am not convinced that this route can be monetized. Wish the author fleshed this out further.

Re: Introducing the new Snapchat

#178
post #20
post #3

This seems like a solid response to Instagram eating their market share, as Instagram suffers from exactly the problem described (of course, as intended because Facebook's entire business model thrives on it).

I absolutely abhor and detest the way Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter mess with my timeline. At least give me an option to sort everything in a reverse chronological order -- no "tweets I may have missed" -- by default. I hope the left friends screen will not have this mess.

For Twitter you can flip a switch to go back to chronological order (at least on Android). The settings is called `Show me the best tweets first`.

Re: Introducing the new Snapchat

#179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then, promptly find that one nightclub in your city that forbids photos and video... you hopefully have one, and its probably a better time. :)

I've lived in many major cities around the world (and have done enough partying to confidently say) I haven't seen one nightclub that forbids taking photos. That would be stupid. I've seen a couple of bars where they ban it, but not in nightclubs, especially high end ones. It's too hectic to "ban" something there, and the more exclusive the place is, the more likely the visitors want to instagram their visits, the be…

I'm sorry, but it just means you've never been to a good nightclub. A good nightclub is a place about the music, the DJ and the dancefloor; posing for selfies is just killing the vibe for everyone around you, and thankfully, there's a lot of places where it would get you thrown out of the club.

Re: Introducing the new Snapchat

#180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've lived in many major cities around the world (and have done enough partying to confidently say) I haven't seen one nightclub that forbids taking photos. That would be stupid. I've seen a couple of bars where they ban it, but not in nightclubs, especially high end ones. It's too hectic to "ban" something there, and the more exclusive the place is, the more likely the visitors want to instagram their visits, the be…

I'm sorry, but it just means you've never been to a good nightclub. A good nightclub is a place about the music, the DJ and the dancefloor; posing for selfies is just killing the vibe for everyone around you, and thankfully, there's a lot of places where it would get you thrown out of the club.

I've literally been to every single top night club in NY, including the exclusive pretentious ones like 1OAK, Avenue, and the likes, and more music focused ones like Electric Room and Output. I know what I'm talking about.

People go to night club to party. And most people take photos when they're partying. I don't see anything wrong with that.

Sure it's annoying (I know it's annoying because I actually experience it first hand) but saying that should be banned just means you're out of touch. Even some of the most hipster nightclubs in Williamsburg would never throw you out just because you took a photo.

People will hate you if you take a selfie in the middle of a dancefloor, and some may even complain about it to the bouncers (most don't), and the bouncer may ask you not to do so, but NOBODY throws you out because you took a photo. In the nightclub nobody cares that you're taking a photo in the corner.

Lastly, it's kind of ridiculous how this thread turned out. This was not at all the point of my comment.

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