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Introducing the new Snapchat

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Re: Introducing the new Snapchat

#71

Post by madeofpalk »

ganlaw wrote: post #55
karmelapple wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As strange as Snapchat's UI is versus the standard mobile OS's UI guidelines, there's no denying their unorthodox UI has been wildly successful. There's definitely things to learn from their strategy.

I don't think it has been successful for on-boarding new users. They are overwhelmed and don't know how to use the app.

Supposedly that's why its been successful. Or at least that's what the HN crowd tells me why teenagers like the app.

Personally, I don't buy it. Snapchat still manages to onboard new users who eventually learn how to use the app despite all its shortcomings, because people really want to use Snapchat. Having 'good UX' is just a shortcut for having people inside your app who aren't as committed to it.

Re: Introducing the new Snapchat

#73

Post by throwaway_lnd »

rjpr wrote: post #36
smcl wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess that under the hood there are modes the camera can operate in - lower-res "video" mode and a high-res "still" mode. When you're looking at the viewfinder it's kind of a video - so it'll be lower res and presumably will skip some corrections involved when a still is taken. Edit: oops I thought this was in reply to a comment where someone complained that the photo was taken from a screenshot of the viewfinder i…

Where are you getting this from? Unless I missed something all they're doing is moving around the menus a bit.

My girlfriend noticed that she can use filters now. She has iPhone 4S. That may be related. I don't notice any other difference myself.

Re: Introducing the new Snapchat

#74

Post by jsmthrowaway »

eightysixfour wrote: post #15
yojex wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Snapchat takes beautiful photos on iOS. Some people I know even prefer to use it to the native camera. I wonder why this is different for Android? Does anyone have an insight here?

It sure doesn’t for me, it takes the worst photos of any app I use by a long shot. It is fine for ephemeral stuff but nothing I want to save ever turns out well. (This includes from my 6S and my 8+)

When you save, you're saving exactly what would be uploaded to Snapchat, which is downsized for bandwidth reasons. You'll especially notice this on videos.

Re: Introducing the new Snapchat

#77

Post by token_throwaway »

iambateman wrote: post #48

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,…

That's a pretty dramatic take. Social media use in general probably declines with age, and although I'm not sure how you'd quantify it, I bet that using social media primarily as a form of social proofing declines even quicker with age. All young people "perform" because their self-awareness is on extra high alert and their personalities are half-baked. This has been true since the dawn of high schools.

Re: Introducing the new Snapchat

#78

Post by gallerdude »

iambateman wrote: post #48

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,…

I don’t know, isn’t this the same as all social media? I remember reading something along the lines that playing golf is posted on Facebook twice as much as doing the dishes, yet people spend 5x more time doing the dishes.

And if we step back from social media, what about regular pictures? They’re supposed to take candid moments of the real world, but even if we’re having a bad day, we smile and act happy for pictures.

I agree that a divide between reality and ideal is happening here, just that it isn’t really new.

Re: Introducing the new Snapchat

#79

Post by 0wl3x »

iambateman wrote: post #48

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,…

This is a great encapsulation of exactly why I put down snapchat a few years ago. It's rather scary how people can get pulled into this feedback loop and how hard social media users can work to keep of a facade of performance. Thanks for giving a noun to the sentiment I've had for a few years.

Re: Introducing the new Snapchat

#80

Post by personlurking »

iambateman wrote: post #48

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,…

> Those concert-goers felt the need to misrepresent their experience of the concert.

I felt the same sense of misrepresentation browsing Instagram recently, where the photo no longer represents the experience, but rather it is the experience (if one can call a posed and doctored product an experience).

One problem with this is the behavioral reinforcement it creates. If dopamine is released enough times when a certain action is performed, it would seem there's a point where your brain is essentially making you continue to reproduce that action. And these services aren't primarily targeting adults, which is concerning as well.

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