-
Instagram is Launched by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger
Instagram is a photo and video-sharing social networking service invented in October 2010 by Keven Systrom and Mike Kreiger. Instagram was launched and rapidly gained one million registers in two months. The app launched at the right time when mobile photography was popular, and phone cameras were of relatively low quality. Jemina Gibbons, a London, social media consultant, says, “Instagram was a great way to make those bad photos look good- and to add your own personal twist on top.” -
Instagram Gains the Attraction of Investors
Due to the rapid rise in Instagram’s user base, many investors became intrigued by the company. In addition to institutional investors, the company also gained the attraction of other leading social media companies, including Twitter and Facebook. Although the financing gave Kevin Systrom and Mike Kreiger the opportunity to afford more employees, they decided to keep the company small. Twitter reportedly made an offer of around $500 million in stock, but the founder declined the offer. -
Facebook Buys Instagram
In March 2012, the app’s user base had increased to 27 million. In April 2012, Instagram became available on android phones and was downloaded more than one million times in less than one day. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram founder Kevin Systrom had been in communication during the beginning of Instagram’s rapid rise in popularity. In April 2012, Facebook purchased Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock with the stipulation that Instagram would remain independently managed. -
Instagram's Terms of Service Controversy
In December 2012, Instagram updated its terms of service. The update granted Instagram the right to sell users’ photos to third parties without notification or compensation. This update gained criticism, and many of the users deleted their accounts. Instagram eventually retracted the controversial term. -
Instagram Drug Investigation
A BBC investigation found users were showing narcotics and advertising their sales on Instagram. Most of the drug sales appear to be from the US. Among the illegal drugs advertised are MDMA and other amphetamine-related substances. Instagram responded by blocking specific hashtags to stop the sale of illicit drugs among its users. -
Instagram Switches its feed from Chronological to Algorithmically
Since 2010, Instagram has used a chronological order-based feed. In 2016, Instagram started using an algorithm order-based feed that places the photos and videos it thinks the user wants to see from the people they follow towards the top of their feed, regardless of the time those posts were originally shared. According to users, these changes made their Instagram feed boring or too full of a certain group of people. This update made Instagram feel like an extension of Facebook. -
Instagram Launches Carousel Posts
Instagram launches the ability to edit and share up to 10 photos or videos as a single carousel post that friends can swipe through. It's similar to Instagram albums that collects permanent photos or videos around a theme. -
Instagram Lauches IGTV
In order to compete with Youtube, Instagram launched IGTV. On June 20, 2018, Instagram announced it would allow users to upload videos up to one hour in length, an upgrade from the previous one-minute limit. IGTV is available globally on iOS and Android. -
Instagram Launches Instagram Reels
In order to compete with TikTok, Instagram launched Instagram reels. On August 5, 2020, the app was launched in over 50 countries on both iOS and Android. Similar to TikTok, Reels allows people to record short-form videos set to music, as well as any filters and effects. The videos can be shared with friends and followers and discovered while browsing the app. To further compete with TikTok, On July 27, 2021, Instagram announced that Reels could be up to 60 seconds long. -
The Present and Future of Instagram
Similar to Twitter, Instagram will soon allow users to repost Reels and posts from other users. The goal of the upcoming feature is to give credit to original content creators. Reposting features will let the content posted by the original creator get the likes and views on social media that it rightfully deserves. In the future, the user base of Instagram will continue to increase. I predict that Instagram will become more focused on Reels and less focused on being a photo-sharing app.