Class 11, Snapchat as a Collaboration tool.

SnapChat was developed by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, two Stanford University students who were convinced that emoticons were not enough to transmit the emotion that a person might be wishing could be sent with a text message. But they were also nervous that a quick snap of a cellphone camera showing a particular emotion might end up being inappropriate for a social media site where the picture could be posted for all the world to see.

It is simple to use, you take a picture using your

camera phone, select recipients from your contacts, decide how long you want the message to be visible for (up to 10 seconds), and click send. For the recipient, the process is very like getting a text message, simply tap to view a snap. Also, the message disappears from their phone once the time limit has expired, although the details of the sender and the time stamp remain. Users can add friends from their phone/device contact lists in addition users can now add friends who are nearby them, so if users are hanging out in a group, it is now easier for them to connect and become friends.

Snapchat is a fun messaging app for sharing moments. You can take a photo or a video, then add a caption or doodle or lense, and send it to a friend or add it to your story to share with the world/your followers. Friends can view individual snaps for up to 10 seconds, and then it disappears.

SnapChat can be a fun and engaging app when used appropriately. But it should be used carefully and with very specific ground rules or not used at all. Apps like SnapChat remind parents that we need to be vigilant about our children's smartphone use and to monitor their activity to prevent problems like sexting,cyber-stalking  ,cyber- bullying  or other elements of the "dark side" of smartphone use by our children.