5 Things You Didn't Know About Snapchat

Snapchat is climbing the ranks of social media with its newest feature, “My Stories” 

Photo courtesy of Snapchat

The Verge recently published an article about Snapchat’s newest innovation, known as “My Stories.” With the launch of this feature, there is more to Snapchat than meets the eye. Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel sees the app as a potential competitor of Google+ and Facebook. However, many users still see Snapchat as just a new, fun app and a social media network. Here are five things The Verge told us about Snapchat that I’ll bet you did not know.

1. Their CEO is only 23
Evan Spiegel is the 23-year-old CEO of Snapchat. He believes that there will be a new digital world of communication. He intends to impact the world of social media and the “ephemeral images” of Snapchat are only the beginning.

2. Snapchat is headed to have a $1 billion value
In only two years, Snapchat is already estimated to be reaching a $1 billon value.

3. 350 million snaps are sent per day
This number is comparable to statistics released in 2010 that stated 35 million people updated their Facebook statuses each day.

4. “My Stories” is one of the only chronologically ordered updates on social media
Snapchat made the “My Stories” feature because consumers wanted a way to send their snaps to all of their friends without checking each one individually. The snaps you see in “My Story” appear in the order they happened in your friend’s day, rather than on a timeline where the most recent event is shown first. This feature allows users to experience the day as their friends experienced it.

5. Snapchat has its own sociology researcher on staff
Nathan Jurgenson is known for his essay on the “reality of our digital lives.” Jurgenson invented an idea that fascinated Spiegel, called “digital dualism.” This concept says that people create two worlds for themselves, online and offline, and live according to those. Jurgenson does research for Snapchat on how people use both social media and digital communication and helps to incorporate that information into the company’s goals.


By Stephanie Robertson

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