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Expert: Why Kim Kardashian Chose Snapchat to Share Taylor Swift Recording

Bad blood — but good strategy? With basically the entire internet debating Kim Kardashian‘s move to leak Taylor Swift‘s phone conversation with Kanye West about his tune “Famous,” social-branding expert Jasmine Sandler tells Us Weekly exclusively about the thought process that likely went into the reality TV star’s decision to post the recording, along with which of the stars could be hurt more in the long run by this flap.

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Sandler tells Us that Kardashian’s plan for releasing this call appears to be “all very calculated,” as it was posted to Snapchat on Sunday, July 17, the same night that the “Famous” video was a key story line on E!’s Keeping Up With the Kardashians. In the snaps, Swift, 26, appears to be OK with West, 39, singing about her, although she wrote on Instagram after the recordings were released that she hadn’t realized the rapper would refer to her in the tune as “that bitch.” (The full lyric in from the the Life of Pablo song reads, “I feel like me and Taylor still might have sex / Why? I made that bitch famous.”)

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But could Kardashian’s plan ultimately backfire? Sandler believes that in the short term, the snaps “hurt Taylor’s brand” and make the “Wildest Dreams” singer “look bad,” while “drawing attention to [Kim’s] own brand and because of the timing, also drawing people to her show [KUWTK].”

But Sandler believes that the public may ultimately turn on Kardashian, 36, and take a negative view of her choice to post the snaps.

Related: PHOTOS: Taylor Swift's Red Carpet Style Evolution

“I think in the long run, it will wind up taking a negative toll on Kim’s brand,” Sandler says. “I think this is a form of bullying, and that Kim will come out looking like she’s trying to bully Taylor. I also believe age plays a role in this. Kim is much older than Taylor, and there’s the expectation that she is more mature and shouldn’t be getting into these fights with someone so much younger than she is.”

“I think both Taylor and Kim are great businesswomen, and both are very calculated in their decisions, but I think this is a bad one on Kim’s part, in the long run,” the branding maven continues.

Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian
Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian attend the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards on August 30, 2015, in Los Angeles.

As for why Kardashian opted to use Snapchat to share the recording, Sandler believes she picked it because many of Swift’s fans are devoted users of the app.

“Snapchat [users’] ages are the 12–24 demographic, and that’s Taylor’s main audience, so I believe that Kim was trying to reach a younger audience with this,” the guru reasons. “Snapchat is the fastest growing social media out there — they are the bar today that Facebook was five years ago. Kim knows this, and this is why it’s smart to go with the snap.”

But Sandler wonders if Kardashian will come to regret the move once cooler heads prevail: “Something I think Kim should think about is the longevity of the internet — this will be online forever!” (For Us‘ exclusive details on whether Swift plans to sue Kardashian and West, click here.)

Tell Us: Will Kim Kardashian or Taylor Swift be more negatively affected by this spat?

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