SnapChat to the rescue?!
Carl Hewitt
Fractional CTO – Innovative Technology & Strategic Leadership | Complex Technical Problem-Solving Expertise | Focused on Navigating Global Client Challenges | Hypergrowth Startup Scalability
This is a bit of a departure for me, but I enjoyed this story so much I thought I would share it.
Background: SnapChat is way the younger generation communicates. They do not generally give each other phone numbers, email addresses - but their snap handle. One of the features of SnapChat is that it allows you to share your location and displays this location on a map with your avatar on it. It also notifies you when someone is driving to a new location.
As many of you know, I am not a huge fan of social media. I do not do facebook, insta, friendster, myspace (ok, I know enough about it to know myspace and friendster went away years and years ago). I do not have many friends, but those that I do - I meet them in person and we talk directly. Old fashion, I know.
My kids have social media because its - well - not sure how they can exist socially without it. I would be hard pressed to find something that I think is long term beneficial in it . . . until yesterday.
[Disclaimer: NOT SURE this is a good thing or bad thing.... you make up your own mind]
My oldest daughter is a freshman at top college. This is her story.
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She met a guy in a social situation who is also a student (or, as she would describe 'a student-athlete - emphasis on athlete'). They shared their snap handles and did not really communicate. But, the map was active.
Roll the clock forward a couple weeks and this student-athelete tested positive for covid and was sent home to quarantine. 6 days later (still contagious, still supposed to be in quarantine) he posted on his story (story is like a play by play of your life to show to your friends that you are interesting - I guess) that he was going to Buffalo Wild Wings. My Daughter and friend saw this and decided to do something.
They called the restaurant and described the guy and said he had Covid. Without a mask, I guess he was easy to spot and the restaurant asked him to leave. This same guy then went without announcing to a different bar. Same call. Same result.
As she describes it, after about 6 or 7 ejections - he started to muse, frustrated, about how the different establishments knew he had covid! No idea that two girls, one he had met one time, one he had never met where using social media to protect the public.
Do I now have a reason to respect social media? Not sure. You tell me.
Retired
3 å¹´Awful, wonderful, frightening, shocking, etc. all at the same time. Regardless of the intrusive method your daughter used, Carl you are to be commended for raising her with a social conscience that values the needs of the many over the desires of the few.
Sales Engineering Leader | 20+ Years of IT/Infra/Application Leadership
3 å¹´That is a very interesting, and amazing, use of Snapchat. Probably the only thing it's useful for, in my opinion.