Instagram announced today that they will be introducing ‘Instagram Stories’ and everything from the name (Instagram Stories), to the design of the camera button, annotations tools, and the ability to share photos to friends for only 24 hours, is pretty familiar to the way Snapchat operates.
According to Instagram, the new feature lets users share all the moments of their day, not just the ones you want to keep on your profile.
“As you share multiple photos and videos, they appear together in a slideshow format: your story. The photos and videos will disappear after 24 hours and won’t appear on your profile grid or feed.”
Users will see stories from people they follow in a bar at the top of your feed – from your best friends to your favorite popular accounts and unlike regular posts, there are no likes or public comments. (Which is basically the same way Snapchat operates).
According to TechCrunch, Instagram’s CEO Kevin Systrom, did not disagree with their new feature being a Snapchat ripoff when they were confronted about the comparison. He said,
“They (Snapchat) deserve all the credit..This isn’t about who invented something. This is about a format, and how you take it to a network and put your own spin on it.”
Interestingly, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel had rejected Mark Zuckerberg’s $3 billion acquisition offer for the app in 2013. Snapchat went on to become really popular and this move by Facebook/Instagram is clearly a strategy to compete with them.
