Snapchat spurs debate on how life in Cairo should be represented

Multimedia posts on life in Cairo, uploaded to photo-sharing application Snapchat and compiled into a video following a call for contributions on Sunday, have elicited sentiments of pride and shame among Egyptians.

Residents of Cairo were encouraged to contribute short video clips or photos to Snapchat’s "Live Story," as part of the global trend that was started by the application a year ago to showcase glimpses of life in various cities. The application’s feature aims to collectively narrate on the ground perspectives of daily life.

The material uploaded so far covers a range of themes, such as: staple images of the pyramids and Nile, a tuktuk tottering through a narrow street, people trying to beat the heat, wedding celebrations and a very brief but entertaining rendition of an Om Kalthoum classic to a beatbox.  

The #CairoOnSnapchat hashtag prompted an array of reactions on Facebook and Twitter, with some taking pride in the images, but many also cringing at crowdsourced representations of life in Cairo.

Some users lamented a missed opportunity to showcase Egypt to the world, and others joked about deleting the application altogether to avoid following the live story.

A few also highlighted errors in the material, such as displaying the pyramids of Giza in a video focussing on Cairo.

“This is an opportunity, this can help Egypt a lot,” one social media user wrote. “We’re talking millions of people seeing a glimpse of Egypt daily life and that’s what they see.”

“These are 12 hours of fame and they can’t even use it right.”

Some praised the fluent English speakers in the story, and others ridiculed the heavy accent of a Snapchat user who showcased “the very famous Nile river.” Another short clip showing two girls dancing their way down a street was also criticized.

“This is not our Egypt and you are not our girls,” one social media user wrote. “Egyptian girls don't dance in the street.”

Contributions from “Gulf nationals” were hailed as unpatriotic.

Political messages also infiltrated the Snapchat debate, as several social media users used the hashtag on Twitter and Facebook to circulate bloody images from the dispersal of the Rabea al-Adaweya sit-in in August 2013, urging people to “remember Rabea.” 

Another post referred to the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Egypt from the US, warning of the killing of Muslims and urging the “ummah” to wake up and “salvage yourselves.”

Other Snapchat users asked the naysayers to stop raining on their parade.

Someone commented on social media that the live story shows all the different sides of Cairo, while another proclaimed, “We finally represented our country our way.”

“It's good! These things really do exist, yeah, Egypt isn't about that only, but it's not about models and parties either.”

Others encouraged Snapchat users to post their own stories and what they see as representative of Egypt, instead of ridiculing the existing videos.