Could someone explain why people keep directly comparing Snapchat with Instagram and Whatsapp Status?<p>To me, Snapchat is a fancy way to tell a small subsection of my friends about something i'm doing / seeing right now which they might enjoy. Everything I see on Snapchat is highly relevant, personal, and real. The whole Snapchat Story thing is not even remotely relevant for a lot of users.<p>Instagram and Whatsapp Status do the complete opposite thing. Their services are simply another copy of traditional social networks, namely posting perfect pictures of the ideal personality that you wish to be to all of your "friends" - or rather all of the people you ever cared enough about to add to your network. Instagram especially seems to have devolved into a cesspool of poorly hidden advertisements.<p>It's more or less the digital difference between sending a friend a postcard while on holiday, or submitting an opinion piece to a major newspaper. They seem so different to me that any direct comparison is completely meaningless. Why is this valid?