WOW. This is a big change to Instagram, obviously very Snapchat-inspired (see @caseynewton's article).
Instagram has always been about sharing your "best self" with its highly curated feed of filtered photos. Instagram stories is intended to be frequent and less edited, more of a communication tool.
Eager to play around with this later today.
@bentossell@rrhoover@caseynewton Then again, Snapchat released Memories, allowing for higher quality content to be published and shared from the Camera Roll. I've already noticed photographers and artists I follow to treat it more like a portfolio.
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@kylekesterson and no "Snapchat copied Instagram!" outcry for that move 🤔
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@rrhoover wonder what Snapchat would have to say about this.
@olivalcf@jimmydouglas@nivo0o0 Agreed it's a straight copy cat. But are you really surprised? Think about how messaging started to get popular and was instantly integrated in every popular product and designed to look exactly the same.
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@olivalcf I believe the naming decision is intentional. It's a marketing strategy used to instill confidence in their customer base in that they know EXACTLY what this new feature is and how it functions. And, frankly, it seems as if those I'm following are very comfortable using Instagram Stories. Interesting move.
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@jonathan_laniado@olivalcf I second you on that! Also, the reason to keep same naming conventions is not finding a need to educate the users on what new has been introduced. Its a seamless flow that the users are already accustomed to!
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I think this is a rather smart move from Instagram. Most 24-35 people I know are reluctant to add an additional photo app (Snapchat) to their arsenal, saying they don't need more of the same functionality. This way they'll get introduced to a different way of communicating, which is good.
However, educating their users may result in turning them towards Snapchat later if their stories feature will be inferior.
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@norbertdragan Most 24 - 35 year olds I know have Snapchat. The ones that don't often haven't even adopted Instagram either.
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@kylemarksteiner It's different here, in Eastern Europe. Snapchat is only extremely popular among 24 or younger.
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@norbertdragan I had a feeling that might be the case. Curious to see how it evolves in a place like Eastern Europe compared to the states then!
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I think Instagram decided to jump on this ship now because users are still figuring out Snapchat and managing their network over there. However, on IG their network is pretty much established so IG could benefit from network effects while they still can. Would love to have @mikeyk tell more about this move.
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@phuckiennguyen - totally agree. Audience segments aren't the same as well - Brands on Snapchat are appealing to a younger audience, so Instagram can take the concept and run with it, and reach a broader section of the market.
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@webireland I think it boils down to features and in that case Snapchat is still pretty good armed with slick geostickers and filters. However it might just be a matter of time that IG will include those since Facebook acquired MSQRD a while ago. Snapchat is doing fine but this is a neat move by IG.
IG can take a portion of this market but by no means will it dominate/take over this market from Snapchat. The only reason why: Snapchat automatically opens up to the camera tab, making it so quick and easy to capture life's moments. On IG, the camera tab is an extra click away behind IG's interface. And in doing so, they sub-consciously de-prioritize Stories behind IG's main function, the home-feed. IG Stories will gain traction to some extent but by being a whole click away, and throwing it behind IG's already complicated interface, it should just act as a secondary source for IG content that users do not want to post on their primary page.
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@chriskarimian I found the interface of Snapchat more complicated than IG's. But I do agree with you that is would be very hard for IG to dominate or take over the market from Snapchat.
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@chriskarimian it's a slide away actually. Also, in my opinion, IG is far less complicated than Snapchat which always feels like it is hiding interesting features from its users.
It looks interesting, but the beauty of Instagram pictures is one thing that I love about the service. Why Instagram decide to do this?
I mean, what did they take into consideration to make such a drastic change?
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Best part… "Unlike regular posts, there are no likes or public comments."
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Social is so driven by numbers. It leads to an arms race and, honestly, mental exhaustion sometimes. I feel like Instagram not showing those numbers on there will remove some of the network's obsession with them. Hopefully there aren't even any 'view' metrics on there ala Snapcat.
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