Instagram stories copied from SnapChat

Picasso once said, “Good artists copy; great artists steal.” How apt the quote seems in today’s scenario! While the world can’t stop talking about Instagram’s new feature- Stories, we can’t stop thinking how this feature might complete rip apart SnapChat.

What are Instagram Stories?

Okay, so if you have lately updated your Instagram app, you would see the round pictures appearing at the top of your news feed. What are these, you might wonder? Actually, this the new update of Instagram and it’s called “Stories,” wherein a user can pop in the stream of pictures. These pictures will expire in a day, much similar to SnapChat.

So, did Instagram really steal SnapChat’s basic idea?

Before we talk further, let’s admit the truth- yes, there is a huge elephant in this room! Instagram did copy the whole lot concept or basic idea of SnapChat. The idea behind Stories, their creation, browsing through them and everything else is totally SnapChat’s origin and anyone denying that is completely silly.

Will Instagram perform better?

The catch however is that the stories on Instagram have taken what has been built by SnapChat, but Instagram has spun the interface in its own unique way. Instagram has now lifted the idea and given it its own colours. It has actually went ahead to build a better and much-considered feature.

So, where SnapChat has failed is its way of working. While the app has always seemed to be confusing and opaque to its adult users, the miniature users find it extremely convenient to use. Instagram has simply done away with the confusion. It has instead, eliminated the opaqueness and made the stories feature easily understandable for the “masses.” And, of course, there are a whole lot of improvements that have been done here.

The interface actually gives its users, the hints on using the stories feature. This is what the company has opted for- the simplicity. Basically, when you open the app on your mobile or computer, you’ll instantly feel like giving a pop to the circles revolving on the top of news feed. One may say that Instagram has also made efforts for impulsive clicking on this feature.

What has Instagram done with Stories?

Here is what a user will notice on Instagram’s Stories-

• The Stories come with fancy and elaborative drawing features. These were absent on SnapChat.
• On Instagram, one will find less clutter in terms of less buttons. Also, there are less of options, which means that not too much will get in your way of sharing the pictures. SnapChat’s first version was like that, remember?
• In order to help the users and avoid confusion, Instagram Stories focus more on labelled and obvious buttons. There aren’t any offers information or swipes. The Stories are self-explanatory in the sense that they tell you what you are looking and what should be your next step. SnapChat has lost this ground as well.
• Instagram has introduced the ‘Send Message’ button, which guides the users. SnapChat, instead, has the swipe up feature on the photo to send the reply instantly.

All in all, the ball seems to be in Instagram’s court because of the simplicity it has added to Stories. All this is making the experience more and more enjoyable.

Who’s having the last laugh?

Depending upon whose fan you are, either Instagram’s new feature is the most earnest gesture of sycophancy or it has the bluntest audacity of practicing plagiarism. In both the cases, it seems like Instagram is unashamed.

The new product Vice President of the company, Kevin Weil in this context says, “When people first started using a hashtag outside of Twitter, it was a big deal.” Now, he says, it has become almost universal, like it’s no one monopoly and everyone’s product. He says, “I think ‘the story’ is a fantastic format for sharing in the moment and giving people a picture of your daily life, and I think a lot of apps are going to adopt it.”

How will ‘Stories’ benefit Instagram?

There are primarily two ways in which the ‘Stories’ feature will benefit Instagram. These advantages to Instagram are as follows-

Instagram’s sharing problem might get solved- Many believe that Instagram is perhaps going the downhill because there aren’t as many posts here, as they used to be. ‘Stories’ will revive the concept of more sharing on Instagram. This is so because the feature appears to be more casual or less curate. Kevin Weil explains, “Instagram Stories turns Instagram into the best place to share your highlights, but also the everyday moments that make up your life between those highlights.”

Combating the competition- The biggest threat of Instagram and Facebook at present is SnapChat. Or, we can say that people love SnapChat a lot. This app has by far, become the greatest obstacle to both Facebook, as well as Instagram. And, the major concern is that young people literally go gaga over SnapChat.

With ‘Stories’ feature Instagram will let users also share their “fleeting moments”- The idea behind Instagram is to let people have their own picture book on the social media. Basically, Instagram allows people to keep those pictures which they wish to stick around. On the contrary, SnapChat allows people to share their fleeting memories. That is why, SnapChat is so popular. By introducing Stories on Instagram, the company has given it all to the audience. The benefit to Instagram is that it has much wider audience than SnapChat.

Also, the Stories feature will give the users to introduce to the world, their real self- the unedited one! As of now, we could only see the beautiful and interesting pictures on Instagram. Now, we can see people experiencing life, in the unedited form. With Instagram entering this genre, it would only be interesting to see what shall be the next move of other social networking sites.

As a user, I only need to sit and enjoy this wonderful clash of titans! This is the world of lifecasting. Welcome to this new world.