Instagram Stories and the Identity Crises of Social Apps
Instagram rolled out ‘Stories’ last week–an unabashed Snapchat copycat causing a stir in Silicon Valley and beyond. The internet mocked Instagram with memes drawing parallels to Melania Trump copying Michelle Obama’s speech and renamed the app Instasnap. Celebrities and influencers on Snapchat were reportedly picking sides. Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom was given props for publicly admitting to crediting Snapchat for their new feature (let’s face it– there was no hiding the elephant in the room). As the dust begins to settle, what does this mean for Snapchat and Instagram?
Instagram has been the place where users create and share pictures painstakingly crafted with optimal light and the best angles. My own Instagram is filled with postcard-like photos taken in Mount Rainier National Park and drool-worthy pictures of sumptuous plates of food from a trip to Italy which have earned many likes, and comments. Instagram Stories is a complete departure from this identity. It not only mimics the ephemerality of Snapchat– casual videos which disappear after 24 hours — but is also free of social validation through likes and hearts like Snapchat. Having both contradictory features on the same platform seems like an identity crisis for Instagram.
The behavior on both apps could not be more different. Snapchat has been the place where you don’t go just to be pretty– but be yourself. The content has an easy, conversational format which is intimate, casual and engaging. I got hooked on Snapchat after following #EverestNoFilter earlier this year. It was riveting to watch two climbers document their climb up Mount Everest –from funny banter to surviving snow storms, it was a (real) reality show! Soon, I was following influencers, travel bloggers, brands, politicians, and some celebrities for research.
Snapchat Stories feels more like a raw, unfiltered media channel than a social networking platform. User behavior on the app has been different from other social networking sites– YC Partner Justin Kan gives startup advice sweaty, working out on his elliptical. Actress Kate Hudson has on occasion snapped videos of herself even before she’s out of bed in the morning. My own content on the app is invariably random and goofy for most part. Can this behavior be replicated on Instagram Stories? I think not–the audience is very different. Yet, Instagram Stories might see some success while taking a bite out of Snapchat’s usage.
Facebook has copied Snapchat’s features a few times earlier (rather unsuccessfully). Their cloning of Snapchat’s core feature with their Instagram wing is as much about responding to a growing demand for a new kind of social platform as it is about taking a shot at Snapchat. Snapchat has been the darling of teens and twenty somethings but it seems almost esoteric to anyone over 30. New users have a steep learning curve given the app’s counter-intuitive design. The thirty-plus crowd who have tried Snapchat and couldn’t quite figure it out will probably switch to Instagram stories. Some celebrities, brands, and influencers might switch to Instagram Stories where they have a larger following and a more tested platform for marketing. However, engagement with the same feature is likely to be more curated and less everyday on Instagram Stories.
It’s not uncommon for apps to borrow from their competitors. Facebook live borrowed from Periscope which fits in well in their newsfeed. Snapchat recently introduced Memories which allows users to post photos and videos from their camera roll, however it disappears after 24 hours keeping with theme of ephemerality. These additions have been more organic and keeping with the overall spirit of the app, unlike Instagram Stories. Systrom rationalizes in an interview to TechCrunch, “This isn’t about who invented something. This is about a format, and how you take it to a network and put a spin on it.” Is this the beginning of Snapchat clones on different social apps? Time will tell.
