Snapchat has long been America’s go-to app for the immediate sharing of drunk selfies, candid pictures of one’s lunch and emoji-covered cat pictures. This week Snapchat rolled out its latest feature — dubbed “Our Campus Story” — to the University of Oregon area. Now it’s easier than ever to share your latest snap masterpiece with the entire campus — just take a snap while in the area (verified by GPS), and you can add it to a communal feed of new content as you would to a Snap Story. The feature first went live on a few select college campuses back in October, but has just now reached Eugene for the new year.
The feed of content is available in the “Live” section of the app’s friends list, and snaps posted on it expire after 24 hours. The posts are also anonymous. Since every post is geographically verified, only users on campus can view or add to the story. Today’s feed features excitement for the new Rec Center, reflections on the New Year, and anticipation for the Ducks’ upcoming National Championship game. Users can post photos or short videos to be seen by the whole of campus, almost immediately.
This feature could be a sort of reactionary move to YikYak, which has gained popularity in the past year across many college campuses — including the UO. Yak has become a similar communal feed for new events, words of wisdom, and general campus gossip. While the two do technically offer different services (Yak is entirely text-based, while Snapchat’s Campus Story is focused on photos & video), both are looking to function as the University of Oregon’s collective subconscious.
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