Week 11:Diffusion of Innovations

Snapchat's Insta-Fame

Snapchat first launched from a dorm room in 2011 and has now grown from an experiment to a multi-billion dollar tech industry. Snapchat was originally named Picaboo but founders were sent a cease and assist for the previously trademarked name. In October of 2012, Snapchat was now available in the Android store as well. In October of 2013, they launched 'stories'. In August of 2014, they released 'geo filters'. By the end of August 2014, there were 40% of adults using Snapchat in the US on a daily basis... the rest is history.

Snapchat was able to gain incredible momentum very fast. In 2011, Mark Zuckerberg attempted to buy Snapchat for almost 3 billion dollars, only to be refused. What made just three young men be able to create one of the largest social media platform in the world... in just 3 short years. 

By the end of 2015, Snapchat hit around 75 million users. Streaks were introduced in 2016 as well as another purchase attempt from Google for 30 billion dollars, that was also rejected. In the summer of 2016, user status has grown to 150 million daily users. By January of 2016, the White House joined Snapchat.

All in all, Snapchat gained global appreciation in a few short years as Snapchat transformed from just an app to a social media destination. Everyone from young people to celebrities to the President is on Snapchat now!