Snapchat is the little engine that could. The company has proven its critics, who claimed the self-destructing photo sharing platform would quickly fizzle out, wrong (and then some) by attracting strong celebrity fan bases and building a successful content platform with Discover. Now, signs suggest the company is preparing to launch a completely new side to its business: wearables.While details are pure speculation at the moment (Snapchat declined to comment for this article), analyses of LinkedIn accounts and job boards show that the company has quietly been hiring individuals with backgrounds in smart eyewear and virtual reality. Not the content side of things, which you'd expect if Snapchat was simply getting into creating more virtual reality experiences, but rather actual hardware designers.Of course, if Snapchat is planning to create glasses that will let you record photos or video in real time, it may have an uphill battle. Remember Google Glass ? The $1,500 pair of odd-looking glasses with a built-in computer was the hottest piece of wearable tech for...about a second. (You might've thought so if you were a white male .) Bad reviews, bugs, and an appearance problem led to its swift decline But, it is a different age now. Live streaming and excessive photo sharing are de rigueur, and people aren't so opposed to wearing a connected device 24/7.Given the company's come-from-behind capabilities — and cool factor — Snapchat could be just the one to make smart glasses actually happen. After all, if it can transform how the world consumes fashion, news, and celebrity culture, the creation of a pair of glasses should be easy, right?