I remember the analysts opinion on Facebook pre-IPO. Virtually no revenue. One year later Facebook presented their first gains. While I was sure Facebook would be able to do it back then, I don't see it with Snap.

They could profit from Snapcash though. How about integrating some Patreon-esque function where you can unlock private feeds by payment/subscription? For some art-forms that could really work out well.

"art-forms"

I would say Snapchat is more similar to Twitter than it is to Google or to Facebook. Question is, what is there to incentivize a user to stay on the platform for a couple extra of minutes? I personally have no clue why Snapchat the company is so large — does it really need that many engineers or marketers to maintain an app that is essentially a messenger? The failed Spectacles experiment just seems to scream that this is a company with a lot of money and no clue what to do with it.

> The failed Spectacles experiment just seems to scream that this is a company with a lot of money and no clue what to do with it.

Spectacles look exactly like Google Glass to me, though with a bit less creepy human thumb marketing... http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5179166eeab8ead0440...

All of the current surveillance capitalism companies seem to be flailing when it comes to doing anything beyond selling ads.

Snapchat+YouTube would be killer combo