*****This this the blog of Aneta Hemerova, if posted it for her because of an access problem*****
We all have witnessed Facebook’s multiple tries
to take on Snapchat. As far as I know starting in 2012 by coding Poke, trying
to buy Snapchat a year later for $3 billion or creating Slingshot in 2014.
Don’t worry if you have never heard of these apps. They were not successful
anyways and died shortly after being created.
What actually is being recognized massively is
new feature of Instagram that was introduced at the end of this summer. As some
people say Instagram Stories are a perfect clone of Snapchat’s Stories. Just
look at the name! Couldn’t be Mark Zuckerberg’s team even more creative?
Even though
Snapchat decided not to comment on all the similar features now Snapchat and Instagram
have there have been many discussions, comments and tweets reacting to it even
by Snapchat’s employees.
What many
find hilarious is even the fact that the CEO of Instagram Kevin Systrom said in one of his interviews that he concedes that all the
credits for creating the Stories should go to Snapchat. Now does this
Instagram’s new “copycat” product actually endanger Snapchat’s position in
competitive battle?
Just like
Snapchat new Instagram feature enables you to share your pictures and videos with
your followers. After 24 hours of possibility to replay your meaningful posts
over and over again your content disappears in the middle of virtual nowhere.
And yes, you can also use filters or stickers to make your photo or video look
better. You can even add text to your content. Also you may add your content
from Snapchat Stories to your Instagram Stories just by simply saving it from
your Snapchat app. Getting confused? Well you are not alone.
After being
introduced to online world for quite some time now, Instagram Stories receive
different reactions not only from their “everyday public” users but also from
brands and social influencers like bloggers, youtubers or celebrities.
When we look at Czech blogger scene Kateřina
Lustigová (MyCookingDiary), one of the most recognized food
bloggers in the Czech republic, is not afraid to share her confusion of the new
Instagram feature in many of her Snapchat posts. She loves to snapchat and
create Stories of her everyday life. Her content is mainly about her new
recipes, discovering new restaurants, bistros and cooking but also she tries to
take her viewers everywhere she goes by sharing moments of her personal life as
well.
With the introduction of Instagram Stories the
concept of the way she used to represent herself changes. As she claims she
doesn’t like the new feature because of the way it was created, it’s slowness
in loading and also because she already uses Snapchat that she loves and is
used to. But because of the way Bloggers present themselves today there is no
other possibility than using both Stories. You have to adapt and can’t be left
behind. She also admits that even though she doesn’t like the new feature of Stories,
Instagram definitely has bigger audience and reach. Snapchat in the world and
also in the Czech republic is still popular mostly among teens and has
significantly less users than Instagram. That’s why using it is a MUST.
However the confusion which came with the new
feature of Instagram is based on type of content people share. Food blogger
Kateřina claims that people who follow her on Snapchat also do follow her on
Instagram as well and she can’t tire her viewers with the same content on both
apps. That means she has to create more and more photos and videos to share on
daily basis. It puts more pressure on her and it affects her life even more.
As mentioned above, Instagram brings a new
feature for it’s everyday users even though we can’t give it credits for
creating something new or being innovative. Single user can choose to display
Stories together with regular content or not. The question is how much is it
going to change the way users use this platform? Is it going to change the type
of basic content? Is Snapchat in a real danger or is it just another try that
will not have any impact? So far it looks like the new feature of Instagram has
already established itself and will survive unlike to other tries of Facebook
in previous years.
By Aneta Hemerova
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