Snapchat, an app that allows users to send pictures, videos, and add text and drawings, is considered one of the most popular and widely used apps in today’s social market.
Jared Beifuss, a senior studying business from California, is an avid user of Snapchat. “I use Snapchat daily,” Beifuss said, “Its funny. Almost all of the pictures are awkward and weird. They are the ones people usually don’t save because it’s too embarrassing.” Beifuss went on to say that he saw Snapchat as a more interesting and fun way of texting.
Students use snapchats to take photos of a variety of things. Julianne Huff, a freshman from Alabama studying exercise sports science, said Hawaii is a great place to take snaps. Huff said, “Since we’re in Hawaii I take a lot of snaps of the beach to brag to people back home.”
Started by 23-year-old entrepreneur, Evan Spiegel a mere two years ago, Snapchat has become a multi-million dollar corporation worth $860 million. According to Forbes.com, “Snapchat is on the verge of rivaling Facebook,” in regards to profits. Snapchat’s headquarters are located in Venice, Calif., and run by a staff 17 employees.
In a statement from Snapchat they said they are determined to grow and become even greater in size. To further the production of Snapchat, Spiegel said, “Snapchat will likely use both in-app purchases and native advertising to make money this coming year.” Spiegel said 90 percent of their revenue comes from in-app purchases.
But questions arise about how Snapchat will encourage people to buy their in-app products. “The company, along with marketers,” said Spiegel, “will need to figure out how to incorporate effective advertising into users streams without disrupting the experience.”
When Beifuss was informed of Spiegel's plans to incorporate advertisements into the Snapchat stream, he was not very supportive. “I don’t watch advertisements. I usually just click on it to make them go away,” Beifuss said. “I don’t think it will hurt the company money wise, but it will definitely make people go away.”
Despite Snapchat’s enormous popularity, some students are slow to join the bandwagon. Joel Hardisty, a sophomore studying peacebuilding from Hawaii said sarcastically, “What’s Snapchat?” Hardisty went on to say, “I've never really gotten into Snapchat, and that’s probably because I don’t have an iPhone.” Snapchat is only available on smartphones.
Others such as Bryan Hardisty, a senior studying business marketing from California, said he uses Snapchat once in a while, but not regularly. When asked what he thought of Spiegel’s idea of adapting advertising into the main stream for Snapchat, Hardisty said, “I think it will make people go away. I don’t see how they expect to make a profit off of it, but that’s just me.”