All posts in: Snapchat

13 Dec 2020

Blog Roundup

  • These Are the 11 Best Korean Dramas of 2020 [Hypebae]
  • Our Shared Unsharing [The Cut] The things I felt, but didn’t want to share myself
  • The Real Reason Americans Aren’t Quarantining [The Atlantic]
  • How Did Breakdancing Become an Olympic Sport? [LifeHacker]
  • The Search for the Next ‘Jeopardy’ Host [The Ringer]
  • 11 Skate Parks Around the World [Arch Daily]
  • Anime Fans Can Now Book ‘Sailor Moon’ Themed Wedding Receptions [Hypebae]
  • Chanel Miller on Slowing Down and Creating in Quarantine [Girls’ Night In]
  • Essential Things You Should Keep In Your Car [Life Hacker]
  • Major Brands Describe 2020 in One Word [Hypebeast]
  • Entertainer of the Year: BTS [TIME]
  • Everything Diners Need to Know About the Bay Area’s New Coronavirus Lockdown [SF Eater]
  • The Songs and Albums That Defined K-Pop’s Monumental Year in 2020 [TIME]
  • Twitter Will Now Let Users Share Tweets on Instagram and Snapchat [Hypebeast] Good, cause I’m tired of having to screenshot everything.

30 Nov 2020

Blog Roundup

  • The Boundless Optimism of BTS [Esquire]
  • 12 Incredibly Useful Gmail Settings You Didn’t Know You Needed [Fast Company]
  • No, A Negative Coronavirus Test Does Not Mean You Can Safely Socialize [The New York Times]
  • 3 Brilliant Ways to Transform Leftover Stuffing [The New York Times]
  • Support Small Businesses This Holiday Season [Put This On]
  • 10 Essential Movies About Chess [Vulture] I just started The Queen’s Gambit this week!
  • Snapchat Has Announced A TikTok-Style App Called Spotlight [Fader]
  • 10 New Holiday Traditions to Try This Year [The Every Girl]
  • BTS’s “Life Goes On” Did the Impossible [The Atlantic]
  • Cloth Masks to Shop Now [Vogue]
  • I can’t believe I was going to carve out time in my Monday night to watch what is half of a performance! Please, they should’ve given them a whole special.
  • Spotify Tests A Story Feature For Some Playlists [Hypebeast]
14 Aug 2016

Instagram Stories

It was 7:00 AM on a weekday when I learned about Instagram Stories for the first time. I was 24% awake checking my inbox, checking my Facebook, checking my Instagram and then lastly landing on my Twitter – my normal daily routine. It was my Instagram feed that I learned about Stories though and it came directly from (almost) the source – Eva Chen, herself. Her latest post directed me to the Instagram account where I watched the video of the feature for the first time. What were my thoughts initially?

a) It’s too early to be watching something with this much high energy

b) I’m probably not going to use this

c) Would I ever be able to figure this out?

d) Is… this… Snapchat stories?

If you’re wondering if it’s normal for me to have at least 4 questions for almost everything in life – it’s true. This is actually my real life. all the time.

*****

I quickly learned from my fellow colleagues/millennials (that’s what they call us at work) that this is exactly like Snapchat stories, but you know what? In the two weeks of using this product, myself, I’ve come to realize that no one really cares that it might be a copy cat. Meanwhile, Snapchat doesn’t know what to do with themselves so they went ahead and decided to create a super racist filter.

I had my doubts that I would be able to use Stories successfully, but after doing a deep dive with one of our interns, I felt pretty confident that I would be able to get the hang of it. I’ve learned a lot though and what I like the most about the product though is that it’s something to support the photos in my feed. Yes, I may spend a fair bit of time trying to curate the perfect feed, but Stories is different. It’s a little bit more “unscripted,” and it allows people to see the outtakes in my life. There are some things that make better photos and then there are things that make better snapshots in the form of instant photos and videos and THAT is stories.

One of the biggest complaints that I’ve heard about from people about Snapchat is that 1) it kills their batteries, but 2) they have to have a separate follower base. With Instagram, it’s a 2 in 1. I don’t need to create a separate follower base for Instagram Stories because they are already there. I actually had Snapchat over a year ago, but deleted it because I was over it. Meanwhile, I still had a lot of friends using the app and sometimes went back and forth as to whether I should download it. Well, now I have my answer.

After a couple weeks of using it, I’m officially hooked. I don’t normally include a lot of my friends in the photos in my feed, but it has been fun bringing them into my stories and highlighting the things we’re doing every day. How does everyone else feel about it though? Are you Team Snapchat or Team Insta Stories?!

15 Feb 2016

Blog Roundup

  • San Francisco’s tiniest house! [UpOut]
  • How a Grammy is made [Billboard]
  • My friend Kurt takes a ride with Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph [re/code]
  • 8 Up-and-Coming Cities to Visit in 2016 [Cool Material]

  • My Little Sister Taught Me How to “Snapchat Like the Teens” [Buzzfeed]

  • James Franco was in Seattle earlier this month [Kiro 7]

  • Congratulations to Seattle band Tacocat for recording the new Powerpuff Girls 2016 theme song!
  • Seattle fashion designer Luly Yang will design the new uniforms for Alaska Airlines [Alaska Air]
29 May 2014

Blog Roundup

  • The Reading Rainbow Kickstarter raised $1.5 in less than 24 hours. [Source]
  • Snapchat’s CEO is nailin’ it. [Source]
  • Apple acquires Beats Electronics for $3 Billion. [Source]

  • 25 Things you didn’t know about Boy Meets World [Source]

  • This previous hotel lobby is now a gorgeous 2 Bedroom Loft in Seattle [Source]
12 Dec 2013

Instagram Unveils In-App Private Messaging

Snapchat has something to worry about today because Instagram is now allowing users to send private messages within the app with their new feature called “Instagram Direct.” You will be able to send 1:1 pictures, videos, and text. The feature is currently available for iPhone and Android with no word yet on a release date  for the Windows Phone. Womp womp.

Users can only send private messages to people who follow them. If a user attempts to send a private message to someone who doesn’t follow them that person can then decide whether or not they want to see the message. Private messages can be sent to one or many users.

High quality images with filters sent via Instagram over Snapchat? Count me in.

[Source]