Today, I took a break from Snapchat.

That’s a lie. I just took the day off from putting my face on screen and choose to listen, watch, chat and reach out to people individually.

What happened? I learned a hell of a lot of awesome things about the folks I “follow” and my world opened to the interesting, funny, cute, provocative, smart, entertaining, useful things they bring to my life.

Interesting, funny, cute, provocative, smart, entertaining and useful is how I dimensionalize that dreaded and rarely defined word called “value.”

It wasn’t my plan to write this post when I started my day of snapchat discovery, I just got so excited about what I learned that I had to share.

Here’s what I learned from my Snapchat Fam….

Nick W (nickenable) introduced me to Anchor (a voice radio app) and told me WHY it was important “You learn more about people from hearing how they actually speak and their intonation than any photo or tweet.”

Angela (webmastergirl) has a library blog, reviews new books and there’s a street car being tested outside her office! Talk to her about why your library needs to be on Pinterest.

Caring Counts (purcelliraptor) told another good story about customer service. He’s yoda, heed his wisdom.

Cat (catxdavies) talked about the trouble with live steaming for brands — how will they join and WHO will they get to be on screen given the issues many casting talent? Big issue. First I heard it addressed. Bam — value!

David (d_henaghen) works his ass off building things and also this photo made me laugh

Next time someone says Snapchat is just for teens, don’t get mad just show them Cliff’s stories! “As they say,” Cliff Le Blanc (bikeman07) is a retired carpenter/taxi owner who just joined Ghostcodes today and has a higher Snapchat score than I do. Today, I helped him pick his category via chat — Interesting.

I just added Bruno (Brunolarvol) on Monday. Found out he sells software and also dishes smart advice on selling. “It ain’t about making money…it’s about trust.” Yes! (That and good coffee.)

Dr. Durgam (drdurgam) snaps some great dental tips between patients. (mental note: Now I know why I need to stop grinding my teeth)

Mary (maryil40) has a lovely backyard, appreciates taking “me” time and has some very busy critters taking advantage of the spring day.

Eric (polymathandvine) dropped some marketing knowledge, too.

I learned exactly WHY Victoria (victoriatayluk) went in business for herself. She also dropped some sales knowledge below. Take heed.

UX-UI guru Andy (andypngr) had a cool idea about Snapchat — Why not give musicians credit for the songs we snap with? Like Shazam comes to Snapchat. And the SHOE is STILL THERE!!!

Cammy (cammysutra6) showed off street musicians and the beauty of Glasgow. How’d the date go buddy?

Katlin (kaitlinmoose) used her time for #SocialGood and helping a friend raise money for cancer treatment. Nicely done!

PlusCliff (pluscliff) nose #socialgood too. (Sorry, my bad pun not his)

Emily (edmw_shatters) uses blab and had one scheduled today. She also has a cool health business (which I only learned about because I sent a chat.)

crosby (deathbyfluff) has a killer snapchat moniker and knows a ton about tea

Rachel (rachelreallysoc) has a great social team in Colorado.

Stuart (theralph1) is studying some important “stuff”

Ayeorob (ayeorob)…still yelling and being f’ing hilarious.

It was Israeli Independence Day? Thanks for sharing Marina (snufka_86)

Bree’s (breepalm) boss totally puts a kobash on her snaps and her Blab time! That’s why adding text to snaps is so important

And lastly, who doesn’t love random awesomeness? Hillel showed me Hotel California played like I’ve never seen it done before. Love that guy, too!

I could go on and on. There’s new snaps added every 4 seconds and it’s only 6pm. So what did I learn by going dark and communicating directly by chat for a day?

You don’t have to contribute content to be part of the conversation.
Sending snap videos directly to people you don’t know is like sending a note from an admirer. It’s makes people happy.
“Value” is in the eye of the beholder. Don’t stress about “how you add it and trust that it’s appreciated even if no one snaps back.
Listening is more rewarding that talking. (#CaringCounts)
YOU are more authentic than you give yourself credit for.

Cheers!