Snapchat Enters the Drone Wars to Get Facebook Off Its Ass

After issuing its long anticipated IPO (NYSE:SNAP) Snapchat has laced up and entered the drone wars. The world’s major brands are using this year to determine how applying drone technology will revolutionize their operations and Snap refuses to be left behind. But details, labeled as confidential to the public, as to what Snapchat’s investment and growing interest in drone implementation means remains a mystery. Here’s what we predict..

Before taking a guess at what Snapchat plans on doing with its recent investment into drone research the following has to be understood. One, what is Snapchat facing as a company that’s unique to it? Two what is the long term plan of a company who many guessers assume is geared for an eventual buyout? Snapchat faces the unique challenge the challenge of being cooler than it’s larger, richer, and seemingly more ruthless competitors. The result: Snapchat’s unique platform features are regularly copied by Instagram, Facebook and others as they race to prey on the Snap’s popularity. Snapchat’s seemingly iron grip on the younger social market worries more tenured rival brands. 60% of U.S. smartphone users are between the ages of 13 and 34 are Snapchatters.

Last year, a pair of Snapchat’s $130 hard-to-find video recording Spectacles are being sold online for $5,000. Why? Snapchat’s glasses were cool. Snapchat revived hope for wearable producers by creating a product that didn’t prolong the virginity of it’s users, a challenge Google Glass never overcame. While it’s unknown as to how Snapchat will use drone technology, it’s capacity to apply the cool factor more effectively than Facebook, Amazon, Google and other contenders in the drone wars tells me to anticipate something fun and easily digestible for users. A pivot in this direction could be revolutionary, as Facebook’s seemingly douchey internet beaming drones crash over African skies, and Amazon's drone delivery fails to publicly acknowledge the ‘creep-factor’ it’s ambitious drone spitting zeppelin faces.

David v. Goliath: Facebook earns 17.50 Per User in Ad Revenue. Snap Inc. earns 3.15. Strategic Business Research

The second thing we’ll consider before making our guess; what’s Snapchat’s long term goal plan and how do drones fit into the picture? Context clue: Snap Inc. is a camera company. It has no plans of competing with Facebook in the digital space and while the giants can and will continue to steal it’s remarkably successful concepts, it knows their jurisdiction ends in the digital space. Facebook, Google, Twitter, Apple, Instagram and co have shown an obvious weakness in the hardware world where Snap has been surprisingly proficient.

This company plans on continuing to run that unique race unchallenged with drone technology. Snapchat’s confidential experimentation with drone technology is right in line with what the company wants to be. Expect Snap to infuse it’s unique grasp on the cool factor, and the game like nature of its platform to the drone world to make catching up that much harder for copy-cats.