The Raging War Between Instagram and Snapchat.
We all know and love popular photo and video social media apps Snapchat and Instagram. The introduction of Snapchat back in 2013 was one of concern for Instagram as the leading app for photo and video sharing. As a record number of 150 million daily users create and share content on Snapchat, it is starting to look like Instagram will have to share the top spot. With the addition of many entertaining/beautifying filters, Snapchat have branded themselves more marketable; enticing big brands such as Taco Bell, the giant fast-food franchise in the US. They worked with Snapchat to create a campaign that turned the Snapchat user into a tasty taco which brought in 224,000,000 views in just 24 hours.
However, recently it has become evident that Instagram have been feeling the ongoing pressure from the social media giant Snapchat. On the 2nd of August 2016, Instagram introduced a new addition to the app in the form of Instagram Stories. This new feature allows users to upload videos and photos in a slideshow format on their profiles that disappears after 24 hours. Instagram also highlights the stories of accounts which the user follows and places them at the top of the user’s homepages to be viewed as many times as required over the 24 hour period.
Very similar to Snapchat Stories, no?
Snapchat Stories and Instagram Stories are near enough identical, minus a few additions on Instagram’s part, such as the option to swipe back on the story you are watching in case you have missed or want to rewatch anything. However, in the use of the application the new feature appears and operates exactly the same as Snapchat. Spot the difference bellow.
Some are saying that this new feature means the ultimate end for the trilling new social media app that is Snapchat. Bloggers such as Ardent Creative argue that Instagram is not stealing ideas from Snapchat but rather expanding on what they have already established. They also claim that there are many different platforms to Instagram that allow for users to grow and these options are not achievable via Snapchat, therefore making Instagram the better of both apps.
And others say that Snapchat’s ability to mould and reinvent itself means that even though they are the baby of the social media world, nobody puts them in the corner. Snapchat will bounce back bigger and better!
By Abigail Sesay.
@xo_abs
Connect with me on LinkedIn