How Snapchat furthers my social media existence

Remember the early days of MySpace?

Oh, the good old days of not realizing that this social website was laying the groundwork for the state of social media. When all we had to worry about was who to pick among our circle of friends for the “top eight” section and who to deal with the next day at school when your “best friend” was not among the chosen.

While there are now a host of social media apps and sites on which to build a profile and followers in some sort of fashion, there are a select few that have influenced my way of life.

Facebook connected me with friends, acquaintances, co-workers and family members who I didn’t even know existed. Although, like other sites, it has continued to this day to change its appearance, functions and more, I enjoy posting happy milestones in life, well wishes, and the occasional sarcastic daily observation.

Granted, like others I’m sure, I cringe when scrolling through posts from those I have not even talked to in five years. Yes, I really need to filter through my list of friends over spring break; just add it to my list of things to do.

Twitter is a whole other animal for me. Most of my followers are either acquaintances I’ve networked with, friends or professionals. Because of that, I choose either to tweet professionally, including pop culture tidbits and conversation with friends.

I recently had an interesting learning experience with a student journalist based in Turkey who let me know some of the sentiments people are feeling over the prime minister election. It’s impossible for me to be strictly professional on Twitter, but at the same time, I keep it appropriate. So, don’t expect me to tweet, “I’m hungry. Where the food at?”

Now, for the other social media apps that have vied for my attention: Vine? No, thanks. The funnier vines are available to see on Facebook, and I’m not creative enough to produce an entertaining six-second video. Foursquare? Nope! Is it really good to be checking in where I’m at every time I go for lunch?

Snapchat is a different story. Apparently, most of my co-workers were snap-chatting hilarious misgivings and moments of life I was missing out on. Not only my co-workers were in on this comedic collective, but friends I try hard to keep in touch with daily through texts, calls or otherwise would not talk to for a whole day.

Therefore, my reason for choosing to add Snapchat to my already packed social media space in life was simply a matter of peer pressure. Just kidding, I’m stronger than that. It was more curiosity than anything else. Snapchat is an app I already check, along with the others, without a second thought. It’s simple: You take a photo or video, write a funny message over it and share to your selected friends or for all to see for a 10-second period.

So, until another app or social media website grabs my curiosity, I will exercise my thumbs to connect with people and publish content to my current mainstays: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Flickr and now Snapchat.