Potomac goes global with Snapchat geofilters

By Maya Rosenberg, Staff Writer

With the creation of its very own Snapchat geofilter, CHS has joined the ranks of thousands of locations ranging from L.A. to New York.

Snapchat’s geofilters are illustrations that usually portray the culture or some of the local area and are available to users taking photos at a certain location. CHS’ geofilter bears the school’s name in blue with “Bulldogs” written in green underneath.

“I like it because I feel it boosts school spirit,” sophomore Lindsey Levy said. “It makes the school feel more like a community.”

General areas like Potomac and Rockville have their own, but it is unique for a high school to have one.

According to senior Laura Werber, who created the “Potomac” geofilter, submitting the design was quite easy.

Snapchat provides online instructions on their website for creating geofilters. The website also includes designing tools such as Photoshop and a unique geofilter illustrator software.

With all the tools available through the site, it just takes some creativity, and an awareness of what represents the area you’re designing for.

“Don’t create something to impress everyone because there’s no way you can make everyone happy,” Werber said. “Just make something fun, creative and new.”

Some think that the geofilter applies more to the students that the building itself.

“The geofilter doesn’t exactly represent the school as well as it represents the students,” freshman Alex Henoch said. “The kids in our school have a lot of spirit, and I think the geotag really shows that.”

Students also use the geofilter on their Snapchat story, an element of the app that allows you to post a photo for 24 hours.

Freshman Carissa Wu and her friends think the filter is cool, and use it frequently on their stories.

“I think it’s a creative way to show school spirit,” Wu said.

The new geotag allows students to show their school pride and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

“Students definitely like the current design, and they will continue using it,” Henoch said.