David Brown

Just like Snapchat, Insta's Stories are short videos that disappear after 24 hours from a person's feed.

This feels like Snap's payback for refusing to sell to Facebook, an attempt to imitate Snap into irrelevance.

So now, there's extra pressure on this Spectacles launch.

CEO Evan Spiegel, now 26, tells the Wall Street Journal that he's operating on a principle of measure a thousand times, cut once.

Unlike Glass, this rollout can't be hasty.

In fact, everything about Spectacles feels in direct opposition to Glass.

Instead of a futuristic-looking headband, these sunglasses look like novelty shades you might pick up at a gas station, though they're definitely sturdier.

They have round circular frames that come in three colors, with a small yellow circle at each temple marking the cameras, and a light to show that you're recording.

Instead of $1,500, these glasses cost just $130, less than a tenth of the price.

That price point puts spectacles in easy reach of Snap users, most of whom are teens and young 20-somethings.

Rather than promise the world, these glasses promise simplicity.

Video recordings that max out at 30 seconds long.

The video will be captured in a circular frame, which Spiegel says is closer to human vision.

The footage gets uploaded right to a folder in Snapchat for easy editing and posting.

And then there are the vending machines, which like Snapchat's patented disappearing photos and videos, go away after 24 hours.

The kiosks literally move to a new location the next day, which Snap users can track through an online map.

The disappearing kiosk strategy is fun, quirky, and the polar opposite of the Tony Google Glass experience with its white glove service and appointment times booked months in advance.

Snap is still doing a limited rollout, but unlike Glass, this one is no longer centered around the elite.

What could be more populist than a vending machine?

And what seems cosmetic may really be strategic.