Did you know that Snapchat’s original name was Pic Boo? Or that they chose yellow… simply because none of the top 100 apps had yellow?
I learned those two things, and four more that left me inspired:
1. Evan made the point that social media is unnatural for both people and creativity. Real life conversations are ephemeral. That’s why Snapchat doesn’t have a feed. He also said the ability to quantify social hampers creativity. It takes away gut and instinct.
2. Brands are anything but ephemeral; they evolve who they are and their stories over long periods of time. That’s not how we live and operate as humans. Brands need to work really hard to be relevant in social. They’re not a “friend”.
3. Evan was inspired by Edwin Land, founder of Polaroid, because he cared about art and the integrity of his decisions.
4. Joanna shared that Cosmo’s most successful content on Snapchat’s Discover was a 5 second video showing a woman from waist down, jumping into water wearing Ked’s shoes. It was relatable, simple, and the right thing for a brand.
I’ll end with a quote from Evan: “It’s only been the last 10 years that conversations have been stored”.