Why I won’t be deleting Snapchat just yet

A good friend, and fellow Snapchatter, sent me this note

hmm.

http://adammclane.com/2013/08/22/why-you-should-delete-snapchat/

we’ve talked about some of this before.

someone posted this in FB in relation to teen girls.

My response (edited for clarity)

Thanks for sending that link! I see definite pros and cons about the article.

On the one hand, the reminder that my data, to whatever degree, is being harvested so it can be sold, is a very good one.

On the other hand, it bugs me that the main thrust of the article (and the author’s attitude about social media in general) is “they are after our daughters”. I am a parent and a woman, but I’m not impressed by the “original intent of Snapchat is sexting” argument, because if that’s the case, we may as well get off the internet. Features we use daily, such as improved e-commerce functions, were originally developed by the web porn industry.

So the single most important message to me actually crosses over to my ambivalence about Facebook: that I am a commodity which ultimately is being manipulated and corralled into neat packages they can sell—to advertisers, and to governments.

I’ve been wondering what Clay Shirky has been up to these days. He is an academic and “social media theorist” (!) I found on TED who spoke beautifully to my hopes about social media as a vehicle for social change, even revolution. As social media apps and services continue to commoditize, I predict this will inspire more outside-the-box solutions for spreading ideas. We’ve tasted Freedom of Information, and I don’t think we’re going to easily let go of it.

That’s the thing that got me most excited about Snapchat. Maybe—probably—they are not it, but are more likely part of the relentless continuum. Maybe there is no “it”, or rather the continuum is what’s “it”.

So… especially since I’m not sending any sensitive data, I’d like to keep using it in order to experience and enjoy the amazing stream of technologies that are carrying us into the future. If you no longer feel comfortable with it, I guess I’ll have to find another way to send daily “Samus checking out the fridge” reports 🙂