The Diffusion Theory and the Snapchat Glasses

    Snapchat launched in 2011 and 5 years later innovators released the Snapchat Spectacles that would be a topic of conversation for the foreseeable future. Company owner Evan Spiegel targeted the demographic of content creators and those interested in public content because The glasses had a camera in them. They connected directly to the app in your phone which allowed you to film all of your Snapchats hands free from your perspective. These video spectacles came out at $130 and demand drove them to be resold for over $300 at one point. But how did this happen? 

    Snapchat is a very popular app home to millions of users and virtually every content creator. These content creators found some use for the glasses because they film more often than others and became the early adopters. There is an argument that the spectacles actually help them in their profession. However just like any brand name endorsed by celebrities the public wanted to hop on the train so they could be just like their favorite content creator. Soon everyone was buying out the stock so they could be cool and trendy. Eventually all 220,000 pairs were sold and prices and demand went up so expensive in fact people started to realize how dumb it was. 

    People realized that they don’t make enough Snapchats on an app that is free to warrant buying expensive glasses to film their videos. By this time the early majority was dying out, and the trend has been on a decline. Eventually people were stuck with glasses no one wanted to buy except for the laggard content creators and collectors. 

    Snapchat eventually lost 40 million dollars at the end of the fiasco because it was unsuccessful after the first spike in popularity. The second generation was also a nightmare for the company and they now wait to be resold for over $350 with the hope of a laggard wanting to hit the trend one last time.