Now You See It, Now You Don't
Snapchat seems to be doing everything it can to stay relevant
in the evolving realm of social platforms and to continue engaging their users.
The platform has just recently started dabbling in advertisements, and live
event streaming. However, these features are still so new that many users have
not adapted or adopted the features and the platform seems to still be working
on the kinks. I feel that Snapchat has enough of a dedicated and growing following
(over 100 million users monthly) to take the time to develop its current
features before jumping into another new feature. However, Snapchat must
disagree. Snapchat has recently announced a partnership with the finance Square
app to create and release “Snapcash”.
How much is too much when evolving a social platform?
Personally, once I read the words “Snapcash” my question was answered. I feel
Snapchat might be making a huge impulsive mistake here. The platform is
supposed to be releasing this feature to androids immediately. Inevitably, as
with any new feature or significant update there will be kinks and bugs that
can only be fixed via trial and error. However, trial and error when dealing
with users’ money and bank accounts does not sound like the best way to keep
their current users happy or gain new users.
Furthermore I am still having trouble with the concept
behind linking Snapchat (a disappearing picture messaging application) with my
money. Associating my already shrinking wallet with a quickly disappearing click
of my phone is terrifying. I understand that the deal involves a third party
app, Square that is “secure” but that doesn’t mean that other consumers won’t
jump to conclusions and form perceptions similar to my skepticism. In a world
where perception is reality can Snapchat afford any more scrutiny? The platform
recently suffered a large scale photo leak upsetting millions of users and
causing distrust among the public. I can’t help but assume that the adoption of
“Snapcash” may be a very poorly timed and possibly detrimental addition for the
platform.
I am eager for the launch of “Snapcash” and to see just how
the public feels about this new feature. It will also be interesting to see how
this partnership plays out financially for both companies. Unfortunately, I predict the partnership as a flop and that "Snapcash" will be here and gone as fast as the pictures users send and view on the app; in a flash.
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