What Has Snapchat Done Now?

         

                   Elizabeth Gobran

What Has Snapchat Done Now?

          Snapchat CEO Evan Speigel has yet again discovered a new way to further expand his app, making it more convenient for users to record their experiences without having to hold the phone "like a wall in front of your face." The first hardware product, Spectacles, is what appears to be a pair of sunglasses with a camera at the corner. Just one tap allows you to record your experience as if you were on the app. The only difference is your phone is not in the way which leaves your hands free to dance or pet animals without having to make sure you captured the right frame in your recording. After testing a prototype, Speigel describes the beauty of Spectacles as he played back the footage and realized how amazing it felt to have the footage of his trip as well as being able to record without experiencing it behind a phone. Knowing the risks, Speigel intends to take things slow, as he knows that this new addition will not bring in immediate revenue. He takes these risks anyway because he believes that his product is fun and great to use at events.

          As you read on, the article continues to review Speigel's Snapchat success within the past few years. With more users than Twitter, it continues to exponentially grow as a company. Their target market expanded as users realized how casual and easy the app is to use. Celebrities, parents, aunts, and uncles have downloaded the app to share their moments as well. It has become an app where people are free from the pressure of getting a certain number of likes or facing the criticism of comments. This differentiates greatly from Snapchat's competitors: Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. In fact, Instagram has come out with a similar feature to Snapchat called Instagram stories. Facebook has also had many attempts at creating similar Snapchat apps, but they failed to be a successful hit. Snapchat has successfully used the infamous Lenses feature to promote their sponsors such as Taco Bell, Gatorade, and many others. This allows users to actually spend the same amount of time playing around with each filter and view the sponsored effects as would to watch a commercial. They have even managed to squeeze in short commercials in between stories as if you were watching television.

          As a Snapchat user myself, I was intrigued while reading this article because it is one of the most well-known apps of today's society. It is amazing to think of how much the app has expanded from where it began. In just a few short years, the app has become a multi-million dollar company from what started as an idea of a 26 year old man.  This article discusses many relevant topics that we learn in class such as the company, customers,  competitors, and target market. Snapchat has become the success it is today by discovering new ways to improve in each of these categories. Now, people all over the world use Snapchat to capture clips of silly or momentous moments of their lives, so that they may share it with their friends. 

           

  LINK:

        http://www.wsj.com/articles/snapchat-releases-first-hardware-product-spectacles-1474682719?mod=ST1