This week ‘Snapchat’ was launched on the New York Stock Exchange raising $3.4 billion for the two inventors. It is an enormous sum of money. The timing was fortuitous. The Market is optimistic. Its three years since ‘Twitter’ was floated. The time was right.
The attraction of Snapchat lies in the deletion of the communication in up to 10 seconds after it was sent! Last week we were thinking that some things said would have been better un-said. Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy have presented us with a possible answer!

It is over 30 years since Neil Postman wrote his ground breaking book on the TV culture. He entitled it “Amusing Yourself to Death”. In it he foresaw how advances in technology would develop. Here is an extract: –

“Together, this new ensemble of electronic techniques called into being a new world – a peek-a-boo world, where now this event, now that, pops into view for a moment, then vanishes again. It is a world without much coherence or sense; a world that does not ask us, indeed, does not permit us to do anything; a world that is, like the child’s game of peek-a-boo, entirely self-contained. But like peek-a-boo, it is also endlessly entertaining.” Now we can create this world from our smartphone!

This producer of sound bites or visual snaps has the ability to contact up to 16 users at a time. In its short life Snapchat has accumulated 156 million users globally who send 10 billion video views per day. It’s this prenominal usage that attracts investors. Although the company has not yet made any money on its trading the advertising potential is very big. With such swift viewing advertisers may be looking to subliminal communication!

There is a child’s version – ‘Snapkidz’ to start them young! A storage system called ‘Memories’ has been added with a private ‘For my eyes only’ which is password protected.

The authors reckon Snapchat is the answer to the embarrassing longevity of personal information on social media, evidenced by de-tagging of Facebook photos before job interviews and removing blemishes out of candid shots before they hit the internet.

It is into this brave new world that Neil Postman predicted that we are tasked with bringing the Gospel of redemption to the broken people who use technology. It starts with Jesus inviting us into fellowship with himself, “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (St Matthew Chapter 11 verse 28-30).

Jesus is both our author and redeemer. He calls us to do what we were created for – being yoked to Himself. The burden he gives us is to follow him. It is light because he has already paid the price at the cross so when you fail you can be forgiven. You don’t have the burdens others have – no striving to earn your own salvation. No legacy of past guilt having to be deleted or shame for past failures. No burden of having to prove yourself worthy of love. Jesus has gone on before and we are to follow.

Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews Chapter 12 verse 2).