“Snapchat, listen to the people…” : En kvalitativ fallstudie av Snapchats omdiskuterade uppdatering vintern 2018 utifrån ett användarperspektiv

Sammanfattning: This case-study intends to show how an update, or re-design, of an application can affect the relationship between the user and the brand behind the application. To examine this, the study uses Snapchat and its re-design from early 2018 as a case-study, an update which due to users’ opinions and reactions online had serious consequences for Snap Inc. The study uses a focus group as a qualitative method to explore frequent users’ reactions and attitudes towards the update and a survey to collect more general opinion amongst Snapchat-users. The collected data, along with several significant theories from the fields of humanities, social sciences and commerce, leads us to the completion of this study. The conclusion of this case-study is that most users were upset with Snap Inc. after the launch of the re-design because it felt like the application went against its primary purpose of being a private communication channel with friends only. By forcing users to take a place in Goffman’s metaphorical spot-light instead of letting them stay in the more private backstage-area is, simply put, not what they signed up for. The update felt like it was implemented to suit the interests of investors, rather than users, which affected the relationship between the users and the brand negatively. It seems to have also lead to serious economic consequences for the company behind the application.