[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_fullwidth_post_title meta=”off” force_fullwidth=”off” image_width=”80%” _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” meta_font_size=”13px” background_color=”#201f1f” title_font_size_tablet=”” title_font_size_phone=”35px” title_font_size_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_css_post_title=”||||font-family: Inter;||font-style: normal;||font-weight: 900;||font-size: 54px;||line-height: 120%;||\/* or 65px *\/||text-align: center;||margin-left:40px;||margin-right:40px;||margin-bottom:40px;||color: #FFFFFF;||||text-shadow: 0px 4px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25);” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_post_title][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#201f1f” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_divider color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_5,3_5,1_5″ _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_5″ _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cubmpd.ca\/storytellers\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/ArielBioImage-1.png” title_text=”ArielBioImage” url=”https:\/\/cubmpd.ca\/storytellers\/about-us\/” _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_css_main_element=”width: 48px;||height: 48px;” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” positioning=”relative” horizontal_offset=”-137px” vertical_offset_tablet=”” vertical_offset_phone=”” vertical_offset_last_edited=”on|desktop” horizontal_offset_tablet=”0px” horizontal_offset_phone=”0px” horizontal_offset_last_edited=”on|phone” position_origin_a_last_edited=”off|desktop” position_origin_f_last_edited=”off|desktop” position_origin_r_last_edited=”off|desktop” custom_margin=”||||false|false” positioning_last_edited=”off|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_css_main_element_last_edited=”on|desktop”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_5″ _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_social_media_follow _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_orientation=”right” min_height=”55px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”linkedin” url=”https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/arielaarenau\/” _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#007bb6″ global_colors_info=”{}” follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]linkedin[\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][\/et_pb_social_media_follow][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_css_main_element=”font-family: Inter;||font-style: normal;||font-weight: normal;||font-size: 20px;||line-height: 170%;||\/* or 34px *\/||||||color: #FFFFFF;” global_colors_info=”{}”]Founded in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, Instagram was an instant success. The app reached over one million users just two months after its release and reached ten million users in its first year (Constine, 2018). In some respects, its success should have been anything but a surprise: Mark Zuckerberg was an early courter, Jack Dorsey was an avid user, and Marc Andreessen and Chris Sacca had advised from the sidelines (Frier, 2020). The motley crew of industry titans all had their eyes on Instagram and its talented founders. In 2013, Krieger and Systrom said yes to Zuckerberg\u2019s proposal and officially wed to Facebook for $1 billion in cash and stock with a plan to keep Instagram independently operated (TechCrunch, 2012).[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cubmpd.ca\/storytellers\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/6.png” title_text=”6″ _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_css_main_element=”font-family: Inter;||font-style: normal;||font-weight: normal;||font-size: 20px;||line-height: 170%;||\/* or 34px *\/||||||color: #FFFFFF;” global_colors_info=”{}”]2013 also happens to be the year I joined Instagram, my first social media app. Instagram opened my eyes to digital media and storytelling \u2013 a field in which I later chose to focus my studies and pursue a career. Instagram, in its own strange way, held a special place in my heart.<\/p>\n
I have been using the platform for close to a decade and have always stayed on top of its product changes. There have been many of these changes over its lifetime, some better received than others, but the app\u2019s latest round of changes has sparked unprecedented outrage. Headlines summing up user reaction include, \u201cInstagram Sucks Now, Sorry\u201d (Thomas, 2022), \u201cInstagram is currently in its flop era\u201d (Cavender, 2022), and \u201cAdam Mosseri [Head of Instagram] confirms it: Instagram is over\u201d (Lopatto, 2022).<\/p>\n
How did Instagram go from being the beloved app that even Facebook could not tarnish to Meta\u2019s Hail Mary attempt to stay relevant in the face of TikTok and BeReal?<\/p>\n
Understanding what made Instagram unique is a good place to start. Much like Facebook, Twitter, and other successful social media apps, Instagram was once something<\/em> special. \u201cThere\u2019s something around photos,\u201d said co-founder Kevin Systrom when workshopping what Instagram should be (Frier, 2020). Sarah Frier reported that the app was founded on solving three key challenges facing photo-sharing at the time as well as integrating constraints into the product that focus on breeding creativity (Ibid). Over the years, these founding principles were notably altered or removed one-by-one. The most dramatic of course was in 2015 when Instagram announced it was dropping the requirement to have photos fit its iconic 1:1 aspect ratio\/square format (Stinson, 2015).<\/p>\n Other notable constraints included the fact that the app was mobile only, and that unlike other social platforms, users could not share another user\u2019s post. Both of these constraints are no longer in place today. Of course, it was not the removal of these constraints that caused a divide between Instagram and its users. Product evolution is imperative to any app\u2019s long-term success and viability. There are several examples of companies and products that failed to innovate and evolve, Microsoft\u2019s Internet Explorer being a well-known case study. The key is to never lose that something<\/em> that made your product special to begin with. Successful product evolutions are those that are aligned with that something<\/em>; they improve, add, or augment it. Instagram\u2019s adoption of Stories is arguably one of the best product evolutions in history. Stories, a form of ephemeral storytelling first released by Snapchat, was soon copied with great success by Instagram. This is not the first time a social media app cloned a popular feature found within one of its competitors\u2019 apps. In fact, it often does not work. LinkedIn\u2019s Stories feature launched in February 2020 and was phased out in September 2021 (Peters, 2021). Fleets, Twitter\u2019s attempt to launch transient storytelling, was just that: a fleeting moment in time that lasted less than a year (Rodriguez, 2021)[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cubmpd.ca\/storytellers\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/7.png” title_text=”7″ _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_css_main_element=”font-family: Inter;||font-style: normal;||font-weight: normal;||font-size: 20px;||line-height: 170%;||\/* or 34px *\/||||||color: #FFFFFF;” global_colors_info=”{}”]In the case of Instagram, Stories are at the heart of the app \u2013 they feel native to the experience. Stories afforded users another way to share photos, this time with the creative constraints of its vertical format and differentiated posting method (expiration). Beyond the flawless execution by Zuckerberg and his team, the success of Stories can be attributed to its alignment with Instagram as a product. After all, Meta\u2019s other subsidiary Facebook also offers a Stories feature, and it is as unremarkable as LinkedIn\u2019s (Beres, 2021).<\/p>\n Unfortunately, Stories is where Instagram\u2019s A+ product development ends. A recent headline in the Wall Street Journal sums up the ongoing situation: \u201c\u2018Make Instagram Instagram Again\u2019: The App\u2019s Evolution Is Causing Users to Question Its Future\u201d (Bruening, 2022). Significant changes to the algorithm, the ranking of posts in Feed, and its shift to video have made users very upset, with one saying, \u201c[It] is headed for social media purgatory, joining MySpace, [and] Facebook\u201d (Thomas, 2022). The once photo sharing-focused app known for its elegant design, creative constraints, and social graph status is in the midst of a serious identity crisis. \u201cInstagram wants to do everything \u2014 become a destination where users create and watch short-form video content; shop for things they don\u2019t really need but definitely want; and share snippets of their lives in Stories,\u201d says Elana Cavendar, a tech reporter and resident Gen Z expert at Mashable (Cavender, 2022). Cavendar is referring to the numerous product changes and additions ranging from shopping to video-sharing. She says the evolution has Instagram \u201closing sight of why young users liked it in the first place\u201d (Ibid). Instagram\u2019s shift to be the everything platform has veered it from its initial purpose and distinctiveness.[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.10.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]