A lot of people seem to have a misunderstanding of why Snapchat is worth so much. At first, I didn't get it either, but I think there is one main reason for th

A lot of people seem to have a misunderstanding of why Snapchat is worth so much. At first, I didn't get it either, but I think there is one main reason for this high, and what I feel might be justified, valuation. "Single mode visual media capture" [1]. You might be asking "WTF does that mean?"; Well that's the title of Snapchat's patent which was granted for haptic video recording. That means all of the apps where you press and hold to record a video could face legal action for copying Snapchats technology. So if you look at the list, you've got: - Facebook's Slingshot, Instagram, Bolt - Twitter's Vine - Taptalk - Many others One of my friends works for the USPTO and he says that a patent portfolio is the difference between a multi-billion dollar valuation and a multi-million dollar valuation. With the backing of Alibaba, Snapchat could essentially shut down all haptic recording apps or force clone companies to pay a licensing free for the technology. [1] - https://www.google.com/patents/US8428453?dq=snapchat&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kbKhU4quJNiXqAbFs4KQCw&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAQ https://www.google.com/patents/US8428453?dq=snapchat&hl=en&s...