As my GroupMe of sorority girls was blowing up with messages saying, shotty basement for SNL tonight, I was running around finishing errands and figuring out what to do for dinner. The struggles of scheduling time for a viewing in the basement was proving difficult, but I was encouraged to sit down to watch the excitement that I was beginning to see on Snapchat.
Snapchat has produced live-feeds for an increasing number of different events. From the New Year, to the Grammy’s and now SNL40, the Snapchat app has allowed people around the world to participate in big events. While I was anticipating the event taking place just last night, I was able to catch the red carpet on my phone and fuel my interest with behind-the-scenes moments on my Snapchat feed. The SNL40 live-feed gave an inside look on the celebrities, comedy and fun taking place on the red carpet, backstage and even from the audience’s perspective.
The running around that I did before placing myself on the couch downstairs was supplemented with viewings of the newest clips and pictures from the SNL40 red carpet, with loads of celebrities and a virtual intimacy that cannot be matched. The faces of Adam Sandler and Sarah Silverman popping up on my own personal phone saying, “Hello, Snapchat!” made me feel more connected to the people behind the show than ever, and it did not stop there. The ability to glimpse at backstage happenings while the show was going on was the coolest part. Everything from getting ready, to the performance itself and even what the actors and comedians were doing after their skits was published on the app for everyone and anyone to see and experience.
Saturday Night Live was experienced in a different way as it made its way onto Snapchat for the night. More people were able to see the action that they missed on their TVs and what Snapchat users could not found on TV was ultimately seen on their phones. If I didn’t care to see what was happening live on TV, I at least saw what was live from Snapchat, and that was the 40th anniversary of Saturday Night Live.