Can Snapchat visionary keep the app cool?

Evan Spiegel, 22, co-creator of Snapchat, right, works with Chia-Yi Lin at the company's offices on Ocean Front Walk on May 6, 2013 in Venice, Calif. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

LOS ANGELES: Four years ago, Evan Spiegel made the bet of his life, rejecting Facebook's US$3bil (RM13.34bil) offer for his fledgling video messaging app, Snapchat. 

Facebook responded by moving aggressively to clone what it couldn't buy. The defining features of Snapchat – disappearing images, playful cartoon graphics and daily video montages – all became Facebook features, too.