What makes Snapchat addicting? Could we use that for better advertising?
Ding ding! Oh hey, its Jarred. Haven't heard from him in a while I think. I reach for my phone to check the text message. "Hey! Add me on Snapchat!" Oh lord, its that sexting app again. And now my friends are on it? No thanks.
Fast forward, later that same day...Emily and I are sitting on the McLaughlins patio and her phone is going crazy. Snapchat sucks her in. We spent the next hour sending and receiving picture messages that lasted 2-10 seconds. Nothing was dirty. Nothing was inappropriate. (Well, some could argue me smashing donut balls into her face during a 5 second video we made somewhat close.) It was completely addicting.
There is something about knowing you only have a limited amount of time to receive the message before it disappears that is riveting. In a world where ADD is the norm, Snapchat has managed to force us to give something our undivided attention or you miss out. Forever. No repeats. No do overs.
Its an interesting concept and a gigantic feat to accomplish. Can't help but wonder, what if there was a way to harness that virility and engage users to help create massive amounts of 2-10 second pieces of disappearing content for advertisements across a similar platform? If it came from us, would it work? I know I would watch a tv commercial that featured a string of people randomly trying to make a 10 sec advertisement. It would be hilarious.
