Today, Mark Zuckerberg introduced the latest Instagram feature called Instagram Stories:
We’re launching Instagram Stories today.
Stories let you share a series of videos or photos -- and have them disappear after 24 hours. You’ll see stories from the people you follow at the top of your feed, and a ring around their profile picture tells you when their story has been updated.
This is the latest step in putting video at the center of all our services. People are already creating and sharing more video, so we’re going to make it even easier.
If you want to see an example of what an Instagram story looks like, update your Instagram app and follow @serenawilliams. I’ll also be posting one today. I’m @zuck. Let us know what you think!
Well Mark, seems we all agree that this might definitely piss Snapchat off…
At least, Instagram CEO, Kevin Systrom, did confess earlier today his source of inspiration to Josh Constine, Editor-At-Large for TechCrunch:
“Let’s talk about the big thing. Snapchat pioneered a lot of this format. Whole parts of the concept, the implementation, down to the details…”
“Totally, they deserve all the credit.”
As we should all appreciate this show of fairplay, let’s keep in mind that it was kinda obvious…
The race of video features has only just begun…
After the rise of the Insta #fitgirls and mesmerizing videos of hair, cakes, etc. it was obvious that Instagram would take actions to dynamize its video content.
Instagram Stories is a new feature that lets you share all the moments of your day, not just the ones you want to keep on your profile. As you share multiple photos and videos, they appear together in a slideshow format called “your story” and disappear after 24 hours. You don’t get to ‘Like’ or ‘Comment’ on any of the Story posts, just view them.
You’ll see stories from people you follow in a bar at the top of your feed. When there’s something new to see, their profile photo will have a colorful ring around it.
A solution to “overposting”? Not sure… Nevertheless other features could have been more useful and introduced beforehand, as simple as:
- Enabling links in pictures’ captions and/or comments, avoiding the bio section hustle…
- Being able to reply directly to comments instead of adding recipients’ names manually…
- Compile multiple search criteria, e.g. compile places and tag or people and tag to accurate the quality of searches…
Serena, Insta or not Insta?
Maybe because of the buzz around the upcoming Olympic games, Mark suggested that we follow the renowned US athlete Serena Williams for a sneak peek of her new Insta Stories journey.
Interesting choice, as Serena chose to promote her Snapchat in her Insta bio… Excellent sportsmanship.
The two apps undoubtedly have many similarities, and it seems Facebook is doing whatever it takes for Instagram to overtake Snapchat. The race is on. Let’s see who will cross the finishing line first.
Insta vs Snapchat: which team are you cheering for?
