In 2013, Snapchat introduced something called “Stories” that enabled its wide audience to stitch multiple live (cannot be uploaded from storage unless it is captured within 24 hours) photos and videos together to generate a timeline which automatically disappeared after 24 hours. Now, Instagram has updated its application with a new addition titled “Stories” that lets users sew together live memories which will automatically disappear after hitting 24 hours on the clock. Sounds familiar? Yes, it is exactly what Snapchat has been offering for years. To maintain interests, imitating features is nothing new for social media websites whether it’s live streaming, stickers, bots or anything else. However, such blatant ripoffs do question a company’s morality despite being one of the oldest players of the game.
So here’s the thing that matters as everyone knows regardless of how loud their rant is, Instagram isn’t going to remove this feature – Ideas build a product and “Stories” are nothing but a concept that probably more networks will follow soon. This eventually leads to a substantially way more capable way of interacting and at the end of the day, for you at least, it doesn’t matter who released it the first. Snapchat recently added Memories that essentially is a collection of your photos that for the most part, completely contradicts their main appeal. Twitter recently added Snapchat-inspired stickers and believe it or not, the industry will keep on replicating abstract theories to create a better environment for their users. But getting back to our critical point of discussion here, Instagram Stories are a big deal and bringing Snapchat’s most used feature will definitely enhance their enormous 500 Million reach. Hence, here are four paramount reasons why Instagram Stories might soon trump any other similar implementation.
A Less Daunting Interface
Despite being primarily aimed at youngsters, I could never get used to Snapchat’s interface mostly due to the fact that it just doesn’t feel natural. Additionally, I never understood the rationale behind its vast success. Yes, images disappear after the defined period but is that really that important to users ( And hey, there are screenshots too )? Anyways, when Instagram released Stories, it didn’t take me long to realize how coherent it felt by functioning side-by-side on a full-fledged photo sharing network. On Snapchat, you directly land on the camera which can get extremely bewildering.
A Familiar Place for New Users
So, the first and foremost question I asked myself is who should I follow on Snapchat because none of my friends are using it and even if they do, regular posts are a rare sight. Now, with Instagram, that’s an entirely different story as it’s a much more mainstream platform and given its Facebook integration, it feels considerably a familiar place for new users.
You can Finally Uninstall Snapchat for Good
Other than its unique approach to messaging, Snapchat’s application is also known for brutally hurting battery life and data-hogging bugs. Now that Instagram has publicized its intentions for chasing Evan Spiegel’s empire, users can uninstall Snapchat and solely use Instagram if they want. The former still has advantages other than the Stories feature but Facebook might soon release something similar to that (Remember Slingshot?) and still get away with it.
A More Seamless Transition
For people who were previously reluctant to install Snapchat merely because of its solitude of limitations can finally experience the Stories feature on Instagram itself. They’re situated righteously on the top with profile pictures of users you follow and you can restrict your stories to a particular set of viewers too. Also, in its three days of existence, I’ve seen a majority of businesses and celebrities who’re active on Snapchat, post regularly through Instagram Stories too. It is safe to assume that Instagram’s ambitions of being the best imaging social network are headed in the right direction. As far as facsimile features are concerned, these things are bound to happen in this industry. Whether you boycott Instagram or Snapchat takes a serious action which most likely won’t happen, I’m quite sure nothing is going to change. Instagram Stories are definitely going to hurt Snapchat’s user base no matter how hard the latter tries to take a lead.
