Netanyahu joins Snapchat, pokes fun at himself
While speaking of the importance of his official visit to Africa, Netanyahu reminds viewers not to fall asleep
In a bid to reach out to the younger generation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has joined Snapchat,
Not content with his other social media accounts, Netanyahu announced on his official Twitter feed that he had joined Snapchat. Snapchat is a form of social media used for sharing photos and short videos. The biggest users of Snapchat are those aged 18-35.
The advantage of Snapchat over many other forms of social media is that all posts are temporary. After they have been viewed by the recipient, chats simply disappear.
The temporary-content app category has exploded in recent years, as web users begin to realize that anything they post on social media sites like Facebook is “forever.”
Live from Africa! it's PM Netanyahu's first time on Snapchat!
Click to follow @IsraeliPM:https://t.co/xAnHcTaVfx pic.twitter.com/cI52TlXbcb
— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 5, 2016
Thus the rising popularity of apps such as Snapchat, which lets users put a time limit on the pictures and videos they post. Other apps of this type include Slingshot, Line, Whisper, and Cloaq — all of which let users post content and then delete it after it has been seen by those to whom it is sent — with no record of the data ever having existed.
Although many assume that the main purpose of Snapchat is to send sensitive content, in fact it is widely used to send funny photos or short videos to friends.
Netanyahu evidently gets the idea. In his first Snapchat video he stated, “The messages are deleted after 10 seconds. I wish we had something like this in the Knesset.”
In a Facebook post, meanwhile, Netanyahu poked fun at himself for falling asleep during a 40th anniversary event at Entebbe Airport on Monday.
While the names of those killed in Operation Entebbe were read aloud, Netanyahu was caught on camera apparently sneaking a few moments of shut-eye. Sara Netanyahu, who was sitting beside him, could be seen tapping him, at which point he lifted his head and opened his eyes.
In a short video posted on his official Facebook page, Netanyahu spoke about his current trip to Africa and the economic benefits this will bring. “Israel is returning to Africa in a big way,” said Netanyahu. He concluded by saying, “until the next update – don’t fall asleep.”
David Shamah contributed to this article.
