Instagram’s Journey from Data to Knowledge
At the core of a great experience is a structured data set. This recent revelation came about when I was thinking through the data structure of a brewery finder application. The goal was to help craft beer enthusiasts discover local breweries.
As a designer, I needed to think through the data available to understand how I might manipulate it to solve a users’ needs. This core data set included information like the brewery name, location, rating, tours, and whether or not they had tastings or served food. I started by structuring the data I gathered from the Google Places API into repeatable patterns in Semantic HTML to enable users to quickly glean pertinent information.
From those patterns, I needed to help my users understand the information so that it would be useful and they could make informed decision with it. By giving users the power to add to and manipulate that data, I was on my way to creating a knowledgeable service that helps users solve their goal of finding breweries they would enjoy.
Below is my interpretation of the Data Information Knowledge Wisdom Hierarchy which was introduced to me by my professor Michael Dain. The pyramid represents how data can become wisdom, and how each level moving upwards creates more value. Progressing through and understanding each step can make the data that much more actionable. This way of thinking about data has proven to be powerful in my arsenal of UX tools. I’ve already found myself using it during the Inspiration Phase of my design projects. As I complete my Competitive Analysis tasks, not only do look for inspiration in features but I now also pay attention to the data structure of products, as well.
Moreover as, I continue to make decisions during the Ideation Phase of my projects, a deep understanding of the data structure has given me a stronger grasp of the limitations around a particular design. It is the perfect time to bring in my Engineer and Product Manager friends to collaborate on ideas around the data and assess a product’s feasibility, which is key to creating the most valuable solution (per my chart below).
To illustrate this concept in a more articulate way, I analyzed Instagram’s approach to content display and data structure. From the outside, Instagram seems like a very simple photo sharing app, but from an architectural and experience point of view, its elegance shines through.
In 2011, Instagram began as a social photo sharing app that let users take photos, apply filters, and share them with friends. While they have evolved over the years, that simple idea is still at the center of what they do today. Their well thought out information architecture and social strategy facilitated their early growth and enabled them to rapidly grow and emerge as a market leader in the photo sharing landscape.
The rise of the camera phone was crucial to their existence and early success. Their solid Information Architecture (IA) and the original flows for taking, sharing, and discovering photos set them apart from the competition.
EARLY SHARE FLOW
EARLY SEARCH FLOW
EARLY EXPLORE FLOW
Associated with the photo were data points like:
- User
- Location
- Date
- Likes
- Comments
The layout of these elements, with the photo at the top of the hierarchy, created a clear and engaging pattern that users enjoyed. Instagram made some bold, differentiating decisions right out of the gate. For example they only allowed square photos to be shared and they tightly integrated sharing onto other social networks. This helped create more awareness while still keeping the content within their own service. Along with their brilliant, perceived quick upload experience and popular vintage filters, Instagram had everything lined up for success.
Dan Mall stated that, “…thinking and building in terms of patterns is incredibly valuable for your organization, as it’ll help you build leaner, faster, and more future-friendly.” Instagram did just that. Structuring the presentation of the photo with its supporting data helped to create a pattern that was not only valuable programmatically, but to users as well. The patterns enabled a scrollable timeline of information that satisfied the user need of sharing and viewing photographs within their social network.
Hashtags, which came a few months after their initial launch, created new ways for users to interact with posts and explore. This enhanced the search and discovery features for users and gave Instagram the data needed to create things like trends and rankings. This shift from data to pattern provided tremendous value for its users and boosted their overall engagement. Now let’s take a deeper look into how Instagram evolved over time to gain an understanding of how it continues to progress into Information and (most recently) Knowledge.
To further their relevance while staying true to their core data structure, they incorporated new types of digital content to share while not overly bloating the application itself. They started to create and allow other tightly integrated apps to post directly into the Instagram environment.
While the assets being shared were changing, the data structure remained the same. This allowed users to maintain familiarity with the experience and experiment with other media options on their own terms.
Due to the strength of their core data structure, they managed to add additional features without bloating the experience of their product. This set them up to slide from providing Information to their users into generating actionable Knowledge.
The scalability of the Instagram platform has allowed them to keep up with trends in shareable media and reach over 600 million monthly active users as of December 2016. With the enormous amount of data now contained within Instagram, scientists have found ways to use it to create new forms of knowledge. For example, researchers have created a new AI program to detect markers of depression in users.
Researchers have also analyzed the use of hashtags and how people relate and react to them. For example, posts using the hashtag #depression have been met generally with positive and supportive responses within a person’s social network.” We found that these disclosures, in addition to deep and detailed stories of one’s difficult experiences, attract positive social support on Instagram,” the study stated.
Other uses for the platform are currently emerging as well. eCommerce seems to be on the radar. Research shows that they are already testing out product recommendations, save for later, and even full on product purchases from select brands. There is also news from late last year that an eCommerce initiative is being assembled in NYC. These explorations could be in response to apps like MeSpoke looking to compete in an emerging social commerce landscape and an effort to meet the growing demands of their Instagram entrepreneurs.
The solid foundation provided by the data structure combined with their subtle ability to add valued features at a steady pace has elevated Instagram from an interesting data set to an app that generates knowledgeable content and improves the lives of its users. Staying true to their core data structure and design principles has helped Instagram maintain a seemingly simple experience, despite adding substantially more functionality. Who would have thought a single photo sharing app would not only be able to create knowledge in a way that could help diagnose traits of depression but also enable its users to effortlessly discover and purchase products from their favorite vendors and entrepreneurs. This case study has helped me realize how important data, and how it is structured, is in the process of creating successful experiences.
Instagram has used a core data structure centered around a photo to predict behavior, facilitate commerce, share curated stories, and much more. It all started with the ability to quickly share a single square photo. Little did they know that it would evolve into something bigger than the sum of its parts. I am excited to continue following Instagram as it journeys into the depths of knowledge creation and look forward to the day where it takes this knowledge and potentially turns it into wisdom.
REFERENCES
Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom
by Gene Bellinger, Durval Castro, Anthony Mills
How Instagram Beat Hipstamatic at Its Own Game
by Rebecca Greenfield
UX Archive
Content Display Patterns
by Dan Mall
Number of monthly active Instagram users from January 2013 to December 2016 (in millions)
The 3 White Lies Behind Instagram’s Lightning Speed
by Mark Wilson
The Secrets of the World’s Most Successful Mobile Apps
by Rahul Varshneya
A new AI is detecting depression using Instagram
by Amelia Heathman
Instagram will help you cope with depression, says study
by IANS
Instagram’s new shoppable photos are a glimpse at its e-commerce future
by Natt Garun
