2017 was supposed to be Snapchat's year, but nothing went as planned

Snap Inc. had a lot to prove in 2017.

Following months of speculation, the company finally went public, as onlookers wondered whether this would be the year the company finally moved out from under Facebook's shadow. That, and so much more, didn't quite go as planned.

At the close of 2016, I wrote that Evan Spiegel managed to prove not only that his company was worth taking seriously, but that it had the makings of a worthy Facebook competitor. Now, I'm less certain.

To be clear, Snap Inc. is still very much worth taking seriously. The company made a number of important updates that materially change Snapchat for the betterSnap Maps might be the best feature they've ever launched, and the company's shift into augmented reality and artificial intelligence prove it has the technical chops to come up with innovative new features.  Read more...