Snap Map makes me feel old

I guess it was inevitable. After years of staying current in a youth-driven field, there would eventually be a point where my reaction was less “ooh, shiny!” and more “get off my lawn!”

And thanks to Snap Map, it has finally happened. Snap Map is a new feature in SnapChat designed to connect friends by encouraging users to share their current locations on a map. Suddenly, I had flashbacks of the halcyon days of 4square, pre-pivot to swarm, and gowalla (Remember how great it felt to unlock your first swarm sticker at a tweet-up? Those were the days*). Check-ins and mapping is everywhere these days, including Twitter and Facebook.

One key difference between Snap Maps and other services is the precision of the location data. It’s not just letting people know I’m in Kansas City- it’s a step away from sharing my street address in close to real-time. Users do get to control who they share with, and in true Snap fashion, it isn’t stored for long. You can turn it off, too.

Anybody excited about Snap Maps? Or have we kind of been there, done that?

*So not only am I suffering from déjà vu, I also realized I just don’t go anywhere interesting these days.   You can see me snap at the office! Watch me snap from the grocery store! Oh wait- she’s really changing it up to snap from….drum roll…the gym! I’m a party animal, you guys. Thanks, Snap Maps. Thanks.

About the author:
Tara Saylor is a communications manager by day, grad student by night and curious all the time. She is also a web nerd and recovering copywriter. Tara focuses on the channels that enable communication and using metrics to improve communication effectiveness. She tweets about communication and combines as @AnokheeTara.