Share

Instagram CEO Admits That The Newly Launched Feature Is Copied From Snapchat

So maybe it’s time for us to move on and let a little sun shine on Instagram Stories, y’all.

Advertisement

Instagram Stories has recreated Snapchat Stories where in addition to taking photogenic photos you can now take a quick selfie, doodling on top of it, before it disappears in 24 hours. We don’t think so, especially since Instagram executives have no trouble admitting this fact and tossing credit where credit is due.

There are a few key reasons why Instagram Stories is Facebook’s biggest chance of winning the battle for ephemeral messaging – and they primarily have to do with features Snapchat is now missing. One thing that Snapchat has succeeded at is the ability to offer a Stories feature that lets advertisers pass their messages via a full-screen format that looks like a live presentation, similar to what happens with TV ads. Snapchat may have a higher ratio of loyal millennial users than Instagram, but Instagram has way more users overall.

We’ve all got really into Instagram Stories (aka Snapchat for Insta), haven’t we?

An algorithmically-driven Stories will be more attractive for marketers than a simple chronological Stories feed.

Instagram has about 300 million daily active users versus Snapchat’s reported 150 million.

Now you can post violate content on your Instagram that will last just 24 hours on people’s homepages.

“I’ve had a few friends who are influencers who were thinking of jumping onto Snapchat who texted me and said, ‘Whelp, now I don’t have to join, ‘” he said. On Snapchat new filters tend to go viral very quickly, and you’ll find a lot more stories using similar filters; these days the bee filter is a big trend.

In other words, Instagram stories give you the freedom of Snapchat without the latter app’s sometimes confusing quirks.

Advertisement

Although it’s easy to make fun of Instagram’s copycat move, it could have some serious consequences for Snapchat, last valued at almost $18 billion, as it tries to grow its fledgling advertising business. How they approach this problem, is what will decide the future of their app and something needs to be done soon. If competitors like Instagram can just crib every new Snapchat feature and clean up it for a wider reach, its growth could stall. Business Insider mentioned that Facebook is blatantly copying Snapchat. Instagram is known for its chic, well-edited, photos and now Stories adds a more live-video type feel to it; a Story video or photo need not be well-shot to be shared instantly.

Instagram Stories is here