Pick 92 - Snapchat's Spotlight vs. The Hungar Games 🔦

In 2016, The Hunger Games took the number five spot on the American Library Association most challenged books list. The reason for this stated: “They were banned due to insensitivity, offensive language, violence, anti-family, anti-ethic and occult/satanic.”

 In 2014, the novel was also banned for reasons of inserted religious perspective. However, throughout the trilogy, a religious stance is never once mentioned by Katniss or any other character. The dominant belief throughout—the one in which Katniss dares to fight back—is that of loyalty to Panem and the suppression of the districts.

An important factor in the novels is “the nature of celebrity,” as clearly depicted in Bustle Magazine:

Celebrity has always been an important part of The Hunger Games. In the first installment, Katniss, Peeta, and the other tributes are transformed into glamorous idols before entering the Games’ slaughter, in an effort to glorify their actions for the Capitol’s benefit.

IMAGE VIA PINTEREST

 One has to wonder if reality is imitating art in the recent announcement by Snapchat promoting its new Spotlight feature. For those who recall the movie, spotlights were played on the combatants as they engaged in battle to the death. Instead of the Roman thumbs up or down to signal the Emperor's mercy for or condemnation of the beaten gladiator, a social media gladiator earns sustenance  from a Spotlight submission based on how many unique views it receives compared to other content submitted that day. Those who attain the most celebrity get to live big. Those who fail to attain enough celebrity must keep fighting or die trying.

Snapchat is paying out up to $1 million per day for users who submit the best content.

How Does Snapchat Curate Spotlight Content?

Snapchat is surfacing submitted content in a new section dedicated to Spotlight videos. Content is surfaced based on users’ individual preferences.

“We focus on serving the right Snaps to the right person at the right time. We do this by trying to understand your personal preferences.”

Snapchat’s algorithm also considers the following factors when curating content:

• Watch time
• Likes
• Shares
• Bounce rate

Before content is surfaced in Spotlight it gets reviewed by moderators to ensure it’s both appropriate and entertaining.

How Do Snapchat Users Earn Money From Spotlight Submissions

Snapchat notes it’s actively monitoring for fraud to ensure view counts are not artificially inflated.

Earnings will be paid out to users every day and Snapchat will send a direct message to notify people who are awarded a share of the money.