Spectacles, the name of the sunglasses introduced by Snapchat last week, is capable of recording short, 10 second videos, from a first person perspective. The video can then be uploaded to Snapchat, and can be viewed both vertically and horizontally. If the video gets uploaded to a different platform, the video will be displayed in a new circular format
Ben Benrubi, associate director of global partnerships at the marketing agency VaynerMedia, said of the Snapchat product, “It’s an extremely engaging experience to watch circular video on your phone as you can view different parts of the video vertically versus horizontally…Not only are Spectacles fun, but they are functional — they give us the opportunity to tell stories in a completely new and unique format, especially in first-person point of view.”
How well the videos from the Spectacles sunglasses will translate into revenue by using the videos in advertisements is unknown. Stephen Boidock, the director of social media at Drumroll, seems to think that the advertising value of the new sunglasses is not as significant as it could be. He states, “If the goal is to make it easier for people to take snaps and use the platform more often, then it would definitely raise the daily audience size to help attract advertisers,” he said. “But because the spectacles don’t add any additional layer of filtering or lens yet, there doesn’t appear to be an immediate opportunity for brands to integrate with user content.”
Another obstacle that the Spectacles sunglasses will have to overcome is the fact that the video cannot be uploaded directly to Snapchat from the glasses. In order to get the video uploaded to the Snapchat platform, your phone will need to be used.
Like all new technology gadgets, the new Snapchat Spectacles has its positives and negatives. If Snapchat is able to add make some improvements, such as being able to upload video directly from the sunglasses, and also see the popularity of the new glasses increase, then the success of Snapchat might reach new levels.
