Here's how I see SnapChat:

You're walking through the mall with buddy when you see a Mannequin that looks like your friend Rachel. You elbow him and say, "Hey, doesn't that look like Rachel?" This starts a whole game of seeing things that look like Rachel. That statue in front of the courthouse. The woman on this book cover. The old guy on the bus. The mustard on your hamburger. These games are an inside joke between you and him.

SnapChat brings this game to times when you're apart. It's a quick, disposable, throw-away photo that you give, then forget about. It has a spot to say, "I found Rachel again! XD" You don't want to spend time on it. You don't want people saving it. You don't worry if it's in focus, the lighting is good, or what else is in it. It's about the subject of the photo only. There's no time for examining the background.

It's also more intimate than an email, text, etc. You know it's only going to get seen for a few seconds, so you don't worry about the content too much. You snap it, send it, and smile. This means it's more raw than standard social media. Because it's so quick, it's more of a snap decision, which means more personality comes through.

This is starting to sound like I'm the media manager for SnapChat, but to be honest, I don't even use it. I was just fascinated by it's popularity, as I didn't get it either, so I did some digging, and saw what it was being used for. It's an interesting use of tech, which obviously filled a need.