Snapchat First Pitched as a Sorority Girl Toy
From the ongoing legal saga of fraternal business treachery, we receive this relic: a draft of Snapchat's (née Picaboo) first ever press release in July, 2011. Maybe this is how Stanford startup dudes think girls talk—"Let him choose that hot new outfit!"
The draft was penned by Snapchat's resident English major and lawsuit plaintiff, Reggie Brown, and emailed to the app's current chief, Evan Spiegel. The "Timed Picture Messaging Game," as Snapchat was lovelessly described, seems strangely pegged toward some girly girl archetype that existed in the mind of young Reginald, still an eager undergrad.
Brown promised the app would let you, among other things, "show off your sexy new hairstyle," or "send a photo of that food in his teeth or of that cutie down by the beach." Pretty crazy stuff—or "absolutely fab," as Brown puts it. I'm sure that Snapchat has at some point been used to "show off that fabulous new pair of Jimmy Choos" or "catch your best gay friend finally cuddling up with that straight guy at a party" (?), but pegging the app to Carrie Bradshaws seems sort of... limiting? It would explain the background that's been with the Snapchat site since it launched.
Now, thankfully, betches and non-betches alike can enjoy the app. By their own admission, the Snapchat trio was drinking a lot in those early days, so let's just chalk it up to that.
(Disclosure: I love Snapchat)