From Dog Town To Ghost Town – A Real Life David V Goliath Story In Venice

Snapchat Takes Over Venice Beach

Evan Spiegel’s multi-billion dollar baby, Snapchat, is upsetting longtime Venice Beach residents once again. For more than half a century, Venice has been home to a unique beach neighborhood fostering artists and artisans who came here because of the cheap rent and diverse culture. But now it’s the new home of the multi-billion dollar Snap Inc.

In support of Venice's small businesses and local artists, on Saturday, March 11, about 30 Venice locals came out to protest in front of Snap’s new store, Spectacles, on the Venice boardwalk.

According to Christina Stroh, a local resident and activist, “the local artists and business owners are not wealthy. They cannot compete with the billion dollar business of Snap Inc."

As a result of Snap Inc. becoming an ever growing presence in the Venice neighborhood, many small businesses and long-time residents have been forced to abandon their homes and sustainable businesses due to rapidly rising rents in the area. Snap Inc.’s Spectacles sells glasses that are used as cameras to snap for the mobile application "Snapchat."

The protestors who were asking people passing by to delete the Snapchat app, not buy the Snap spectacles or the newly offered SNAP Inc. stock forced an early closing of Spectacles. As its doors were bolted and security guards left the storefront, cheers erupted from the small but vocal group. Ironically, the protest was organized on Facebook by The Alliance for the Preservation of Venice.

Matthew Martin

New York born Matthew Martin has lived on 2 continents and travelled to several others. Growing up in Australia and Los Angles, he traveled and experienced life from many different cultural perspectives, cultivating him into a tree-hugging, adventure seeking photographer! Martin’s interests, which range from musical theater to his native sport of rugby, makes him sound like a renaissance man, but rest assured, he’s just a local Venice boy who enjoys ‘Netflix and chilling!’ Martin is an aspiring documentary photographer and is inspired by the all time greats like Dorothea Lange, William Eggleston, and Robert Frank to name a few.

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