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"Snapchat has proved that ephemeral private messages are a hit; now it's hoping that sharing those messages publicly will catch on, too. \nSnapchat is testing a new group-sharing feature that pulls posts from many users into one large Snapchat Story. The company unveiled Stories in October to allow users to share \"snaps\" for a 24-hour window with anyone they're connected to on the app. \nSee also: The 11 Types of Snapchat Users Everyone Knows\nStories have always been personal, however \u2014 they capture the collective snaps of one person and share them with that person's friends. Now, when multiple users are in the same location for an event or concert, for example, Snapchat uses geo-location to identify that and allow those users to share snaps collectively, and publicly, like a shared photo or video album. \nThe company is testing the new feature, which is called Our Story, at the Electric Daisy Carnival music festival in Las Vegas next weekend. Concert goers can share images or videos with \u201COur EDC Story,\" which will appear automatically under the \"Send to ...\" label alongside the user's normal contacts. \nSnapchat will then pool all of the snaps it receives into one large story, available to anyone who's added the EDCLive account. The only stipulation for sharing to the EDC Story is that you have your location services turned on so Snapchat knows you are actually in the area. (You can do this within Settings on your phone.)\n\n\"My Story has always represented a singular, personal experience,\" the company wrote Tuesday on its blog. \"We wanted to build something that offered a community perspective \u2014 lots of different points of view.\"\nOur Story is Snapchat's second attempt at moving away from simple, one-on-one self-destructing messages. The My Story feature was a way for Snapchat to generate more content and give users a reason to open the app even if they didn't have an unopened message. \nOur Story works in a similar way, but adds the new element of public content, too. If you share your snap with \"Our EDC Story\" it could be seen by anyone on the app.  In that way, it operates somewhat like a hashtag might work on other sites like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Users can come to the group story to see a collection of pictures and images from one event \u2014 like EDC. \nUnlike a hashtag, you won't have the luxury of perusing all content from others, but instead will see a highlight reel of sorts compiled by Snapchat. \nIt's unclear if Snapchat will open these group stories up so that small groups can create their own (imagine a shared story for your upcoming graduation party). A spokesperson did not immediately respond to Mashable's request for comment, but it's feasible that the company could expand this concept to other live events moving forward. \nIf other concerts and venues adopt Our Story, users may one day log in to Snapchat to see which events are happening nearby, and which stories they can contribute content to. Ultimately, this type of engagement could conceivably increase Snapchat's user total if people join to follow nearby group stories. \nFor now, it appears the EDC festival will serve as a test to see how the new tool is adopted. If too many snaps are shared or inappropriate content is flagged, Snapchat will curate the story, according to the company blog post. \nThe new group sharing feature does not require an app update. Users can add EDCLive to watch the group stories the same way they would add any new user. \nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2014/06/17/snapchat-our-story/>