Innovation of Snapchat

Since camera phones appeared on the consumer market in the early 2000's, the idea of being able to quickly send someone a photo has always been sought after. Over time, modern technology has advanced rapidly and allowed for this to occur in many ways. In the beginning, the quickest way for photo transfers were through emails, or taking a data hub to someone. Of course, this is not very speedy compared to the methods people have today, but in the late 20th century, it was one of the best ways to do it. As the 2000's progressed, platforms on the worldwide web allowed images to be shared from computer to computer, and eventually phone to phone. This kind of sharing is known as p2p, or peer to peer, meaning it essentially creates direct digital contact between two people. Facebook, MySpace, and thousands of other websites eventually adopted this kind of sharing and instant messaging became the communication of the future. Folks from all around the world quickly gained access to better internet services, faster phone speeds, and networks that were strong and reliable. And just as all of these things began to grow and shape the idea of communication, many people saw opportunity. As soon as it was possible in the early 2000's, applications for mobile and smart phones were being created to allow users to not only text, but send and receive videos, images, and other forms of visual media. In July of 2011, an app was launched to the masses and it was called Picaboo. It allowed users to send time-limited photos to one another at any time. It used compression methods and time limits to shrink the size of these photos, allowing quick and easy transfer from devices.
As time moved on, this app collected a user base, but it wasn't until later that same year that the app would change names and be known as "Snapchat." This name made more sense. It honed in on the idea of instantly chatting with friends and family through "snaps" or photos. The application eventually became immensely popular, and introduced a video feature in 2012. Since then, Snapchat has continued to innovate and allow all kinds of instant access to its interface throughout its dense history. In the mid 2010's, the application launched new kinds of sharing platforms like stories, and other chat features. These allowed anyone to upload photos or videos to a public hub for 24 hours. Through more innovation and time, the app became one of the most popular instant messaging services in the world, and as of right now, over two million snapchats are sent every single minute of the day. That averages out to around 2.8 billion snapchats every day. The success is clear as day, but what made it so great? The answer cannot be directly pinpointed, but many different answers can be put together to figure things out. First of all, the app supplied a demand that was growing rapidly: convenient photo/video messaging. It tackled this need and with smart design choices, and listening to the feedback of its user base, created an app that almost everyone enjoyed using. They continued building on this idea and created something that meaning for everyone. Even if you didn't snap your friends much, they could still send you things you might want to see, or you could instantly view exactly what your friends were doing at a party, another state, on vacation, and so on.

Snapchat also enabled many different features throughout its years, like the implementation of face filters, virtual reality, and even snapchat streaks, an on-going snap-off between two friends for a certain amount of days. Although these features aren't used as much as the application itself, they add ore depth to the interface and keep people invested. In the end, snapchat has grown exponentially throughout the decade. It answered a huge need for instant media messaging, and built on the idea of convenient and easy communication.