“Why Was This Picture Not Deleted From My Snapchat!?”
Uttered in a whisper- “The most simple and effective marketing tool is still based on the phrase, ‘No press is bad press’.” And the folks at Snapchat, have taken these wise words of advice to heart.
In a world where the attention span of the younger generations is shorter than what can be considered a romantic interlude in the workplace with an accused fondler, the app built for the espionage community as well as the hormonal rage of teenagers, where messages and photos magically or tragically disappear after being viewed (or so the company claims… search for the most effective workarounds :), the popularity of the social network has squarely hit the brick wall of stagnation. Fox News informs the world that efforts in recruiting new users to the service tailored made for the appetites of Anthony Wiener, is akin to the troubling vision of revisiting the artistic genius of Starlight Express, while getting buzzed off visualizations of soup cans and sweatin’ to the 80’s.
In the attempt to attract a new user base, the brass at Snapchat is going through the rigors of desperation, by employing ancient marketing tactics. CEO Evan Spiegel has announced the “ground breaking” launch of a redesigned interface and followed the innovative thoughts of grandeur, by attempting to play the voice of reason in the maelstrom of the fake news epidemic. From a public relations standpoint, shifting the focus away from a sputtering business model and onto a completely different, yet relevant topic, which competitors have literally blundered, is always a good strategy.
Spiegel acknowledges that social networks are at least somewhat responsible for the propagation of fake news, yet is quick to deflect blame from his platform and instead proceeds to brand the Snapchat environment as a refuge from the typical online community interaction. He even goes as far as to compare the experience for the end user to an artistic and liberating epiphany and self expression. Try selling that to all those who were temporarily blinded in receiving unsolicited and graphic selfies, allegedly celebrating the beauty of the human form. Yeah right.
While the social networking world is an example of a rare and fringe form of social Darwinism accented by gummy LSD Flinstone vitamins, the cannibalistic tendencies of the industry only raises hope that Snapchat will not code a workable platform targeting senior citizens on vacation at Club Med or politicians.