Don't be fooled, Snap isn't a 'camera company'

Kudos to Snapchat AKA Snap -- it looks like the company has pulled off a successful IPO without a massive technical glitch or the bottom falling out from under it. It's even managed to penetrate the world of "the olds," at least for a day, dominating the conversation on septuagenarian-favored networks like CNBC and Bloomberg.

Just don't call it a camera company.

But that's exactly what Snap called itself when it filed for its IPO last month, doubling down on the description co-founder Evan Spiegel began evangelizing about a year ago. On the surface, it kind of makes sense. Even though Snapchat doesn't really make cameras per se, it specializes in consumer camera technology. It's in the business of offering users innovative ways to create custom images they can share with friends.

And if you believe that, I've got another one for you: Darth Vader isn't Luke Skywalker's father. He's actually a totally different guy who betrayed and murdered Luke's father.

While some (mostly a certain elderly Jedi) might argue both things are true from a certain point of view, others would cry bullshit.

Snap isn't any more a camera company than Delta is a baggage company. While imagery is one of the key parts of the company's business model, it's hardly the focus. And sure, the company is actually making cameras now in the form of Spectacles (drones and 360 cameras are rumored to be in the works), but hardware sales are negligible to Snap's bottom line. It's not going to be compared to Canon or Nikon anytime soon.

Nor should it. Snap doesn't traffic in camera tech; its main commodity is user attention, giving it far more in common with its social-network peers Facebook and Twitter. It obviously shares much of the functionality of messaging apps like Line or Kik. And when you factor in Discover, the section of Snapchat where publishers (including Mashable) post daily news, Snap looks even more like a straight-up media company. When was the last time you were browsing news stories on a Fuji point-and-shoot?

So if Snap is so much more than dog-ear lenses and circular videos, why does it call itself a camera company?

For starters, it's a simple descriptor. Especially for investors, to whom focus, simplicity and quick decisions are important, pointing at something tangible and declaring, "We're that!" has real currency. Indeed, the camera-company declaration wasn't just in its S1 filing with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), it was the first line.

But I suspect the main reason behind Snap's odd identity statement is to lower expectations. Snap wants to avoid comparisons to Instagram, Facebook, Viber, Twitter and others because it knows its business exists only as long as it can differentiate, and that's getting tougher by the day. Instagram launched its Snapchat Stories clone last summer, and it's been a huge success. WhatsApp is following suit, and Facebook is experimenting with a Discover clone. Viber launched ephemeral messaging in December. There are even rumors Instagram is considering its own Spectacles-inspired wearable camera. The heat is on.

Snapchat's leadership decided to cool things off by switching kitchens. If it's a camera company, there's nothing to worry about -- not for investors, users or Snap's own talent. As long as they keep introducing new and fun ways to take and share photos, everything's good, and the company will keep thriving.

That may actually be true, but cameras are a means to an end -- not the goal. Snap isn't a camera company; it's an attention company. It lives and dies by its ability to attract your gaze better than its peers. Cameras are sometimes involved, but they're only useful for as long as they make you look.