TL;DR: SwapSnaps aims to empower vendors with effective tools for customer engagement—your feedback and ideas are crucial to making this happen.
Many of us no longer want billionaires profiting every time we click a link. As a result, we’re stepping away from platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X. However, these platforms are where you’ve carefully built your presence and cultivated your online customer base. Remember, if a platform isn’t charging you directly, it’s typically profiting by selling your audience’s attention, often displaying ads for products similar to yours. Social media has its benefits, but the downsides seem increasingly dominant.
That’s why I’m developing SwapSnaps, a new kind of event-focused platform. Think of it as a traveling event photo album meets yearbook meets vendor directory. At each festival or event, you and your customers capture and share photos, which remain accessible and organized for easy reference later. Imagine thinking, “Oh yeah, at WonderPlace Alpha, and they have a list of vendors, and here’s their email, and the vendor was in the middle, and I can go back and click to them instead of collecting business cards” is how my memory works. Instead of hunting for business cards or scattered bookmarks, your customers can effortlessly revisit past events online, see photos of your items, and quickly find your contact information.
SwapSnaps creates a digital memory bank that persists from event to event, making your presence easy to find and revisit long after the event concludes—be it WonderPlace Alpha or any festival, big or small.
I’m committed to developing features that genuinely help you engage customers and maintain long-term connections. Post your Instagram, Facebook, or LinkTree links here freely—let’s see who clicks through. Importantly, SwapSnaps respects privacy and transparency; I’m not tracking user behavior or collecting metrics to sell. If someone is intrigued by a product, encourage them to snap a picture. It’ll be easy for them to find later without cluttering their phone or losing track in a crowded stream on their phons. Plus, their snaps might inspire others browsing later, prompting valuable customer interactions.
This weekend is our proof-of-concept. The more images you post—quick selfies, behind-the-scenes shots of your process, or your best products—the greater your chances someone will spot something appealing and seek you out. If someone lingers over a piece, encourage them to take a snap of it just in case, and they’ll be able to quickly locate it later without cluttering up their own phone or losing it in the stream of pics on their phone.
Your images are fully shareable without any hidden algorithms pushing unrelated content to your viewers. Full disclosure: my broader vision includes creating an enjoyable offline-like photo-sharing experience for users to document real-life events collaboratively. I’m exploring this new market transparently, aiming to support genuine connections between vendors and customers—exactly how I came to meet Jeff.
Please consider snapping a picture something wonderful at WonderPlace Alpha using SwapSnaps. Or, upload a pic you already took. If it looks like a place with a lot going on, others will want to jump in. It might start a relationship, or a useful vendor tool for repeat business.