Confession: I'm Obsessed with Snapchat
I'm a San Francisco cliche. Lululemon yoga pant-wearing, green juice drinking, weekend hiking, growth marketer. If there was a BuzzFeed quiz, "How San Francisco Basic Are You" I would definitely score high.
Earlier this year -- in another San Francisco cliche -- the social media startup I worked at pivoted, laying off 80% of the team, including myself. Instead of accepting an offer at another early-stage startup, I evaluated the fact that I'm rent controlled in San Francisco (holla) and knew this would be the perfect time for international travel.
As a byproduct of ex-hippie Berkeley parents who spend their holidays traveling to an ashram in rural India, it was only inevitable to "center myself" by backpacking solo throughout the country.
(Really, this was just an opportunity to post this epic throwback of my Dad from the '60s)
With social media as my career background, I, of course, constantly digitally chronicle my adventures. Furthermore, I'm extremely interested in the psychology of social media: Why people post what they post, what content they respond to, and how they present themselves online.
And for the most part, social media has become a highly curated space -- using the right filter, a head tilt and skinny arm pose, and saccharine copy illustrating that they are so #blessed.
That's why I am obsessed with Snapchat.
It's the only social media channel that let's you be yourself. Whatever you create erases after 24 hours, and you can snap the silliest pictures, while not worrying about the amount of likes and comments. The pressure to be perfect is off the table.
Each day during my overseas travels, I would create a Snapchat story to share with my community. Many times, I wouldn't even have WiFi, but when I found it either at the hostel, or in some cases, randomly under a tree, I would be able to share my daily moments.
My Snapchat stories would include photos and videos including the mileage from outside the window of a second class train, meditation centers, dolphin emojis inserted into the Arabian Sea, closeups of tea leafs in plantations, rickshaw selfies, and lots and lots of elephants.
Instead of thinking people would think I'm weird for chanting in Hindi at a spiritual festival, Snapchat was a safe space to share ephemeral moments that had meaning.
I was able to show a more authentic side of myself to friends. Many things I would never post on other social channels, I shared on Snapchat. Everyone is extremely multi-faceted with many personal layers, it's hard to share all aspects of yourself on social media, and Snapchat lets you do that. I've formed incredible friendships via the platform because the messaging and photos are so innocuous.
As Snapchat becomes universally used by brands and non-millennials, it will be interesting to see the shift in the platform. But in the meantime I will enjoy it, one snap (preferably 3 seconds or less) at a time.
