https://www.cnet.com/news/snapchat-spectacles-glasses-camera-snap-inc-evan-spiegel/
Almost exactly 5 years ago in the month of September, three ambitious Stanford students released Snapchat, at the time existing as nothing more than a simple idea for a photo sharing and messaging platform. Today, over 150 million people use the world-famous application every day. However, despite the shockingly widespread usage of the mobile app, Snapchat has struggled to turn over significant profits proportionate to its colossal growth over the past few years. Perhaps in response to this suffering, Snapchat has recently rebranded itself as Snap Inc., along with the exciting release of their first product, Snap Spectacles. Wearable technology, in the form of vibrantly-coloured sunglasses featuring a built-in camera could become the next must-have accessory for youngsters worldwide.
In an attempt to forecast the success of this product, many have recalled the embarrassing flop experienced by Google after their release of Google Glass in 2012. Elements of their failure included the ‘dorky look’ of the product, the social context Google Glass was used in, and a crashing wave of public criticism received with regard to privacy concerns. Before long, users of the Star Trek-esque headset were unfortunately identified as ‘Glassholes’.
Although Google’s venture serves as a precedent, Di Placido of Forbes suggests that “where Google failed, and where Snap may succeed, is in how the public perceives the product.” Indeed, Snapchat has been received by the people with open arms, and the way in which the application is used has helped individuals to gradually become more comfortable with being filmed in public. Every picture and video taken on Snapchat vanishes after no more than twenty-four hours, and sometimes as quickly as just ten seconds. As a result of this unique feature, places previously known to be foreign territory for a camera’s lens, social situations that were formerly considered to be inappropriate for video capture, are now being displayed on Snapchat. Where passing strangers once frowned at creepy Glassholes, they might smile for the camera once seeing the signature yellow mark on the rim of Spectacles.
Perhaps the most important decision to highlight in Snap’s strategy is their design. Instead of trying for subtlety, Spectacles are vibrantly colourful, enormous, and “impossible not to notice”. Anyone daring to use this technology is certainly making no secret of it, and that is precisely Snap’s goal – to make this concept socially acceptable. Yet a cluster of teenage hipsters can’t be the only ones excited; retailing at $129.99, it will need to be regarded as a significant enhancement of the Snapchat experience that millions enjoy every day. With such a colossal user base, if Snap Inc. can turn a slightly bizarre, fresh idea into a social norm, the world is about to change.
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