KINGSTON, Jamaica – Just in case you were wondering why your Snapchat stories have been very patriotic today, don’t worry, you did not miss the heritage day memo. The craze is due to social media application Snapchat deciding to feature Jamaica as their “Live Story of the Day”, broadcasting pictures and videos from the Caribbean island to their more 200 million users.

Snapchat is a video messaging application that allows users to take photos, record videos, add text and drawings, and send to a controlled list of people. Launched in July 2011, it is believed to be valued at approximately US$20 billion.

Jamaica joins Boston, Mecca and Saudi Arabia on the list of locations to be featured on the social media platform.

The Los Angeles Times also reported today of Jamaica being featured on the social media platform, in an article titled: Jamaicans tearing up social media with daylong platform on Snapchat”.

Users in Jamaica who wish to contribute to the story must follow certain steps.

After capturing a photo or video of the featured event/story using the Snapchat app, you must first tap on the arrow symbol at the bottom right. This will take you to the “Send To” page where you will find the event/story listed. Select the event and once again tap on the arrow symbol that appears at the bottom right, and you will have contributed your snap to the event’s story.

Users will also have to first turn on the GPS location services on their smartphones for this Snapchat feature to work. You can add snaps to “Our Story” only, if Snapchat detects that you are located within the geo-fence of an event.

David Wright