I wasn’t ready to pass up the opportunity of writing that number. Numbers fascinate me. Today’s date also fascinated everyone. I have seen a lot of posts about today’s date and the fact that it’s both a palindrome and an ambigram.
But today’s blog isn’t about the date. Although this will be another short one, it’s about Instagram and my urge to make an app.
I have been using Instagram since 2014 I think. 4 years after it started and 2 years after Facebook acquired the app. I believe every popular app on the internet serves a specific purpose but once something tries to do it all, it slowly fades away.
Since the beginning of the app, Instagram was mainly a photo-sharing app. There was Facebook for social networking, Youtube for videos, Twitter for written posts, and Snapchat for stories. There was a nice balance to it. Everyone played their part. But slowly all the apps tried to copy each other. It all started with everyone trying to copy snapchat’s story feature. It was something new on the internet and everyone jumped onto it. Ever since that incident, any new app that became popular ended up being copied. One of those copiers was Instagram.
Instagram, the app that started as just a photo-sharing app ended up becoming so much more. After copying Snapchat’s story feature, Instagram also tried to dive into long-form videos with IGTV. With IGTV not being such a success, they had to copy something else. Along came TikTok and instead of long-form video, the short-form video became the most popular format. Sooner than later Instagram introduced their version of TikTok, Reels. Reels was the last nail in the coffin for a particular group of users that loved Instagram. The users who loved Instagram for its earliest form. I am talking about photographers. Instagram was a photographer’s go-to app. From amateur to professionals, everyone started to build a portfolio on Instagram. But ever since reels took over the app, photographers haven’t been able to enjoy the app as much as before. Our feeds are dominated by reels and it’s really hard for an account with only photos to get good reach.
I might be wrong but that’s what I have observed and personally felt. All this frustration about Instagram is prompting me to create my own photo-sharing app. I want to build the original Instagram and keep it like that. A simple photo-sharing app. Invite only app. Just for creatives who want to build their photography portfolio.