[argonaut]

Let me go against the grain here and say: there's nothing wrong with this idea! Sounds like a fun way for several startups to get visibility (more power to them), Justin to broaden YC's visibility, and to encourage a few startups to be visually creative in a way that they wouldn't be able to on a normal application. YC doesn't have a quota for its current programs, so it's not zero-sum.

There are tons of mature adults that use Snapchat for normal communication with friends.

And the "lack of transparency" criticism is just looking for anything to criticize YC for. If anything, there's more transparency than the normal YC process because the runners-up are publicly known and exposed to community comments.