I like Snapchat. I have a handful of friends and acquaintances on that service, and it is fun. (Also, like many phone-based services, a good way to play “where is Baratunde Thurston today?”) But elements of its UI graphics choices baffle me.
The “you have no snaps” screen on Snapchat shows a child’s ghost inside an empty goal. That’s some Cormac McCarthy-level bleakness.
— Warren Ellis (@warrenellis) January 15, 2015
Because seriously. Ghosts. Little baby ghosts. You know why nobody went to see the film version of CASPAR THE FRIENDLY GHOST? Because it was 1995 and everybody knew they were trying to make you watch a film about the adventures of a dead baby.
I mean, yes, I understand the thought process. Snapchat sends are “ephemeral.” They come and they go. But, really, once you clear your screen of snaps, all it’s really saying is “Here is the field of dead things. Here is the game you cannot win. Stare into the void of mortality. Please to enjoy the little ghosts of small dead things. We are all about the dead babies at Snapchat.”
my snapchat is still full of ghosts (writes trendy conference talk)
— Warren Ellis (@warrenellis) January 16, 2015
Maybe eight people in the world got this joke, but it was still worth doing.