R.I.P. Snapchat Paid Lenses (Good Riddance)

Couple months back, Snapchat (in their obvious mission to become the coolest social platform out there) released a new update where the app could scan a user’s face and apply an interactive “lens” to their face. And to you fellow power users, this is not news. In fact, if you’re like me, Snapchat lenses have probably lost most of their initial flare.

Still, what one user did while watching a GOP presidential debate and applying different lenses made me confident that we are doing pretty OK as a species.

For weeks, all I saw in snaps from friends was them trying out the latest lens since they only were available for a short time. And yeah, I was using them incessantly.

Soon after lenses were widely used, Snapchat brought back a few that users could buy and keep for future snaps. But as of Friday, Snapchat is closing the doors to its lens store.

First, Let’s Applaud Snapchat

Before I begin the bash fest, I think it’s important to note that despite being so young, Snapchat is already exploring new ways to become profitable without having to rely solely on ad revenue. Even as a marketer, I know this model is how publishers have made money and that it will continue to shift in the coming years.

So when Snapchat brought back some of their popular lenses for purchase (I’m quite keen on puking rainbows) I was happy to see them trying out this idea.

Being the Snapchat fanboy I am, I’d probably plunk down the $0.99 for my favorite lens, right?

Heck, no!

The fact is, it was fun while it lasted.

Society’s attention span is only getting harder to retain, and these lenses just couldn’t keep up the momentum. There are so many other ways to be creative with Snapchat that spending money on these things just doesn’t seem to make sense.

Mostly, I feel bad for the folks who actually bought any of these lenses since Snapchat has said they plan to bring back some of these paid lenses for free. Which if that were me, I’d be pretty pissed.

Snapchat has also stated their reasoning for this move was to focus on their ad business. And that kind of makes me sad, but I want them to do whatever it takes in order to grow to encourage more people to give Snapchat a whirl.

But hey, it’s not all bad. Google is one of the biggest tech companies in the world and continues to put effort into things that will probably never take off.

… ahem … Google+ … Google Glass

The difference with Snapchat is that they’re willing to try something with speed, and if it doesn’t work…kill it.

Fail hard; fail fast. That is how you promote innovation.

Thanks for reading! Are you following me on Snapchat? (@ stephen.hoops)

Am I missing something? Let me know in the comments!