What comes to your mind when you think of Snapchat?  You can send photos, check.  You can send short videos up to ten seconds, check.  If you’re feeling creative you can add some word art, a caption and a smiley face if that’s your style, check.  Most importantly, you have an audience of friends, past lovers and possibly strangers on the other end of the mobile app hungry for your next snap.  It’s essentially a portal for experiencing your life’s greatest moments. 

As Snapchat continues to evolve, so has the advertiser's master plan to connect a brand to the Snapchat audience.  But, what if we could use Snapchat for more than that?  What if we could use Snapchat as a tool to empower the masses versus just selling a product?  Creating a domino effect of people investing in one another sharing positivity, knowledge, and motivational messages all through a simple snap can change the world. 

Take Dove for example, the personal care brand owned by Unilever took advertising to a different level, 'advertising for the greater good.'  Dove is known for being every woman’s 'ride or die' when it comes to personal hygiene.  Dove has been the reason my underarms smell like lilac or some other frolically scent I can’t live without.  Aside from that, the brand has empowered women across the globe by redefining the word 'beauty' in their Real Beauty campaign.  Most recently, Dove lept outside of the box again with a Snapchat campaign as part of their annual 'Self-Esteem Weekend,' which took place on October 9th.  The campaign created a safe haven for girls and women to share their insecurities via snaps and in return Dove and their 'self-esteem ambassadors' responded with real-time advice and words of inspiration.

Out of your many snaps, try to send something inspirational.

Just as Dove took a leap of faith to empower girls and women using Snapchat - why can’t we?  How about we replace big brand giants like Dove with someone like you and me - a millennial who wants to do something greater than share a fun experience through a funny snap with the caption, 'LMAO or #turndownforwhat.'  I’m here to tell you, it can be done.  Last Thursday I attended bSmart Guide’s #ConnectChi2014 networking event at Le Pain Quotidien in the West Loop.  What an honor to guest blog for a community of beautiful, career-driven and overall genuine women with a common purpose of living smart, sharing knowledge and bonding.  After chatting with some of my favorite ladies I brought with to the event and meeting new faces, I sat my glass of white wine down and began to document the ladies in action.  (Honestly, I felt like a reporter preparing for my next piece in The New Yorker...)  I captured women engaging with one another by asking, ‘'What makes you come alive?’'

Kamerin's Snapchat of #ConnectChi2014!

I also captured bSmart Founder Meagan Hooper drawing all eyes to her as she spoke about her personal experiences that inspired her to birth bSmart.  Someone was nice enough to snap a video of me sharing my experience at the networking event ending it with a 'cheers.'  I hate to sound cliché, but I couldn’t help take some occasional 'selfies and us-ises.'

Kamerin's Snapchat of #ConnectChi2014!

Before those snaps were sent off to snap chatters within my circle, I included inspirational captions like 'This could be YOU!' and 'Join a community of women inspired to empower others' for some context.  I felt an inner glow when I saw the number of people who viewed each one of the snaps.  I felt an even deeper glow hearing the positive feedback from women who are now inspired to join a community similar to bSmart.  I feed on creating personal connections, sharing knowledge and creating long lasting positive experiences.  Using snapchat as a medium to share an overall experience from the networking event was a start.  I’m here to tell you it’s ok to use snapchat as a form of communication to connect with people, heck I use snapchat religiously.  But, try to do something different.  Out of your many snaps, send something inspirational.  You may think it’s minimal, but to the masses, it could be something worthwhile.