Beep-beep!! Heads up Folks! That's the sound of the hype bus coming around again. For all who have missed it first time around, Snapchat has been getting a lot of talk recently within many circles including photography.

While some people find it a great tool to add to their arsenal of social media platforms in the aim of promoting themselves, others find it a drain on their time and have allowed it to bypass them. I personally think the tides are changing. Recently, Snapchat turned down a $3 billion dollar offer from Facebook and if that doesn't make you sit up then I’m not entirely sure what will.

So what is it? Basically, it’s a mobile messaging application used to share photos, videos, text and drawings. The main selling point of the app - that makes it different from other social media apps - is that the sender can determine the length of time a message can be displayed for, after that time the message will disappear from the recipient’s phone.

All of these apps have their place, right? I recently downloaded the app after it was becoming increasingly hard to avoid the talk and seeing it in use recently made me look into it again. 

It has only taken me about 3 years!! I had always thought it was an app used by teenagers, who had jumped ship once their parents had gotten on that social media ladder and began to hover over their Facebook timelines in an attempt to see what their kids were up to. The reality is that Snapchat use has increased over 80% for users over 35 years of age and a staggering 100% for users aged between 25 and 34 in the last year. 

I thought I never really had a use for it, or was unsure of how I could use it to help my business. It is now clear to me where Snapchat can sit in-between Facebook and Instagram as an effective platform for business. While Facebook and Instagram allow you to curate a life that’s been polished or directed to a certain style, snapchat is really a raw behind the scenes of what’s going on there and then. In photography this is appealing on many levels as it gives the user a glimpse of what one does to achieve the final image an unedited authentic approach to how one got from A to B. This and the fact that stories disappear after 24hours keeps the user coming back for updates which inevitably strengthens ones presence. But the catch is that it’s demanding and it’s a fine line to walk. Nobody wants to be constantly sold too either, so if you intend to use it for business you should keep that in mind and have a balance to your snaps.  

I’ve only been using it for the past week but I must admit I do like the platform. As for my thoughts 3 months from now – who knows? While it’s not the best app to show your work off, it’s got potential for networking and building a following of likeminded individuals who are interested in what you do and who share the same interests. Also, it can be a lot of fun.

As with any app it’s success comes from it’s users, so feel free to add me, my username is MGP.LIFE or scan the image below, and lets see what we can make of it. Feel free to add your username in the comments below.