December 8th, 2015: As the first university in the UAE to embrace the newest trend in social media, Canadian University Dubai (CUD) has already attracted a strong following with its daily snaps of campus life.
The official CUD Snapchat account, which was launched in September, has quickly become an electronic one-stop-shop for current and prospective students looking to find out what’s happening on the CUD campus, with enquiries coming in from far beyond the Middle East in response to the new communication tool.
Snapchat, an application that originated from a class project at the University of Stanford, has transformed the informal communications arena. It allows users to take photos, record videos, and add text and drawings to create unique ‘snaps’, that can be viewed by an audience of followers for a limited time.
The app is currently the fastest growing and most popular social media platform, and according to experts at leading international business magazine, Forbes, it has a special magic that no other social media channel can match.
Forbes columnist, Yoav Vilner wrote, “The fact that these videos of exclusive content have an expiration date draws users in even more. [It] has the ability to make consumers feel a unique connection to each other. Snapchat is here to stay and the most obvious example is the fact that the 2016 presidential candidates are turning tо Snapchat to connect with vоtеrѕ.”
CUD’s daily snaps provide a combination of stories covering different aspects of campus life, as well as important communications and announcements, enabling students to stay up to date with University events, even if they are not on campus.
Bachelor of Communication student Asad Siddique said, “The informality of Snapchat is very appealing to us as students. It provides a fun and engaging way to keep in touch with what’s happening on campus, but also helps to encourage interaction between students as you see familiar faces through the daily snaps.”
With positive feedback among existing students and new student inquiries coming in from as far afield as Africa, the informal combination of entertainment and information delivery is proving to be one of the most effective means of communication.
To find out how to follow CUD snaps visit https://instagram.com/p/8vMXdSInvN/
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