• Snapchat introduces new group video call feature.
• It allows up to 16 people to participate in one call.

Users have been introduced to various kinds of social media platforms in this day and age. This, in turn, leads to a fierce competition in the market behind the production of these applications. From Facebook to Instagram, do the producers know what users are looking for? How are they contending for users’ attention?

Facebook and Youtube are the two leading applications within the United States. However, it seems that younger consumers are more in favor of applications that have a higher concentration on pictures. These applications include Instagram and Snapchat. This was proven in a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center.

Millennials are evidently obsessed with Snapchat, regardless of their whereabouts or status. From America to Asia, be it a Kardashian or a nobody. Clearly, Snapchat is doing something right in appealing to its younger audience. Of course, this could be traced back to the app’s founders who are themselves millennials. This makes it easier for them to connect to their audience, who are in the same age group.

Snapchat is constantly updating its application, making changes and improving and adding to its functions. From the creation of snapchat streaks, a counter that keeps track of the consecutive number of days two users have snapped each other and now, they have once again, surprise the users with more impressive features.

Recently, the application has introduced an ostensibly new feature. Its ostensibility lies behind its parallel to other social media platform’s tagging feature. The most commonly used platform is probably Twitter, it’s the “@ mentions”. With this update, users are able to perform as they do on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, to name a few. They simply have to type in the commercial at symbol followed by the username of whomever they want to tag in their snaps. Then, by swiping up, your viewers will be directed to the tagged user’s account page. This allows them to see the publicly available stories and even add them if they want to. Likewise, you will receive a notification if you were on the receiving end as the one who gets tagged in a story.

Within the next few weeks, users will observe the appearance of a new feature that allows a large group of people to participate in a video call collectively. This group video chat feature will apparently allow as many as sixteen users to be in one call. Users are required to begin a group chat, as per usual, and then hit the video call icon in order to utilize this feature. Subsequently, the users involved will be notified and invited to accept and participate in the call.

The names that perk up in a bubble right on top of your keyboard are those that are actively in the call. Of course, users will still be able to employ the snapchat filters during the group video call. However, if you do not want to be seen, you can participate in the group all with only voice. Snapchat has made this feature rather convenient and flexible for users such that you can choose the way you would like to be presented to the other fifteen people or less.

In addition, you are also free to opt out of any sort of video features by keeping it a group voice call. As a matter of fact, the application allows twice as many users to participate in a single group voice chat – that is a total of thirty-two users. Similarly, all you have to do is to click on the call icon when you are in a group chat.

There have been many debates about how the introduction of technology has ruined the relationships and interactions between people. However, it seems as though it has only made it easier to connect with people all around!

Featured image via flickr/ Perzonseo Webbyra