© wired.com
Brilio.net/en - One of the original purposes of using Snapchat? Sending naughty pictures: As quickly as they were seen, they disappeared into electronic graveyards! Thanks to this app, your pictures will indeed be visible to the recipient only for a few seconds before being erased forever from their phones, just like nothing ever happened!
How did the app go from being used to ease ones bad habit of sending nudes that they are ashamed of to the new communication tool used by the potential future leader of the world during their election campaign?
Created in 2011, Snapchat has become one of the favourite app of the young generation. With over 4 millions of users, its original function has henceforth evolved and Snapchat is used by everybody mainly willing to share with friends some small fun facts of everyday life. Soon after, celebrities started showing an interest for it as well, allowing them to be closer to their fans. Indeed, the perk that Snapchat has over other social media is the intimacy with which users can share their lifes private moments.
Even though new updates now allow the recipient to replay the image for a limited timeframe after its been opened, the original concept is that once the photo or video has been seen, the files are permanently deleted. Thus, the app constantly invites users to create new content.
Using social networks is nowadays a must-do for politicians in any country. While running for the presidency of the US, candidates are widely present on the classical ones such as Facebook or Twitter. Since the beginning of their electoral campaign, the democrats candidates Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have been using the app Snapchat, willing to reach a younger target (more than 70% of Snapchats users are under 34 years old) and of course gain their votes!
Hector Sigala, digital media director on the Sanders campaign, explains the difference between using Snapchat and any other kind of social media: We definitely treat it as a different medium. For Snapchat, we do try to give our supporters a very behind-the-scenes-type look, something you dont get on other social media platforms. Our supporters feel a very deep ownership on this campaign and it is kind of like theyre checking in on their investments.
Image viabloomberg.com
The most common critique that politicians face is their lack of transparency. Snapchat seems to have proven itself to be a modern day way to counter the preconceived notions of sneaky politicians and allow the true colours of the president elects to show. However, just like any other social media, there is a strategy behind any posts and one can wonder about the true accuracy of the content posted, i.e. whether its curated by savvy Millennials or genuinely coming from the perspective of the politicians...
(brl/red)
