Ibrahim Oqaili
Snapchat has won greater popularity among media persons beating Twitter after the latter had become their favorite app for quite some time. Media persons have been twitting to express their views and thoughts but the video facility encouraged them to shift to Snapchat.
Khaled Al-Matrafi, a well-known media person, begins his day with Snapchat reading poems of Mahmoud Darwish along with his morning coffee. Within a short span, he succeeded in acclimatizing with Snapchat mode of operation.
He communicates with the public by providing them with useful information through short and sweet messages. His fans are now following his explanation of the verses of the Fatiha Chapter of the Holy Qur’an through Snapchat.
Saad Zuhair, who presents the program “Masaat” at Culture Channel, has broken the view that the majority of Snapchatters are young. He gives a considerable portion of his time for this app by presenting his poems and giving highlights of his interviews.
“I am not considering Snapchat as an entertainment app but as a media app which could be invested properly to reach your message and exchange cultural information,” Zuhair told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. “It has now become as important as satellite channels.”
He added: “Snapchat is like a channel in our hand and it allows everyone to use it the way he wants.”
Marwa Salim, also a media person, has become the Snap star. She gives a good part of her time for this app and has left her impression on it through her marvelous messages, which begin daily with “Hello Snaps.” She usually gives beautification tips.
She also explains her experiences from different restaurants in Jeddah and gives advices to the public in this respect. “Snapchatters are concerned with the culture of eating. They are also interested to know more about outstanding restaurants,” she said.
Salim, who presents a daily program titled “Sayidaty” on Rotana channel, asks her fans to follow her on Snapchat.
Rozana Al-Yami also spoke highly about Snapchat and said the app supplements the works of media persons in addition to their conventional means. “Every media person should present himself/herself to the public the way he/she likes,” she said.
Al-Yami tells her fans in the morning that “Everyday is a gift from God.” Her Snaps have attracted a large number of companies and use part of her program for advertisements.”
Ali Al-Olyani, who conducts a daily television program in Ramadan, joined Snapchat recently and interacts with his fans through the app and has won a good number of followers.
Sports journalist Talal Abdullah uses sports events to bring Snapchatters to his fold and has won an important position among the app’s media stars.
