InstaChat - Instagram launches Instagram Direct
Instagram announced on its blog yesterday that it was joining the direct message party, allowing users to send messages as well as pictures and videos in private to 15 of their followers. They have jumped on the bandwagon to try and complete with similar platforms such as Snapchat and Whatsapp. But the history of social media suggests it won't be easy at all for Instagram to attract users away from platforms that have had this function.
Instagram doesn't directly rip off the Snapchat features, as these pictures that are sent privately won't delete themselves. You can only send the direct message to 15 people as well and they must follow you. Still though it still feels like a response to Snapchat's ever growing popularity and as history suggests it's going to be hard for Instagram to take a chunk out of Snapchats following.
Social media history has proven that once something has been successful, the competitors that try to copy and recreate it, just don't have the same success. For example, look at Google+; this has been Google's most successful attempt at competing with Facebook and, although the amount of users is growing, its still not in the same league. There is a long list of competitors that tried copying what others are doing and that have just failed; the likes of Google Buzz, Yahoo Buzz and Apples Ping have all failed however Ping is being incorporated using Facebook and Twitter.
So the question needing to be asked is why have some of the largest tech companies failed at creating a social network. One suggestion is that online networks grow like offline networks. So just copying what your competitors means you won't get the same audience, nor create the same culture successful networks have been able to create.
But, obviously, we don't know if Instagram Direct will fail; it could be a huge success. What has happened in the past suggests that just copying similar features won't be enough to attract an audience. So this could cause Facebook to go back and try to purchase Snapchat again in 2014; however, it seems Google will be looking into this as well after reportedly having a 4 billion dollar off rejected as well.
Alex is part of the marketing team at Social Media Frontiers; he also runs his own blog where you can see this article and others at Alex talks Social Media.
Contact us on Twitter, on Facebook, or leave your comments below. To find out about social media training or management why not take a look at our website for more info http://socialmediacambridge.co.uk/
Social media history has proven that once something has been successful, the competitors that try to copy and recreate it, just don't have the same success. For example, look at Google+; this has been Google's most successful attempt at competing with Facebook and, although the amount of users is growing, its still not in the same league. There is a long list of competitors that tried copying what others are doing and that have just failed; the likes of Google Buzz, Yahoo Buzz and Apples Ping have all failed however Ping is being incorporated using Facebook and Twitter.
So the question needing to be asked is why have some of the largest tech companies failed at creating a social network. One suggestion is that online networks grow like offline networks. So just copying what your competitors means you won't get the same audience, nor create the same culture successful networks have been able to create.
But, obviously, we don't know if Instagram Direct will fail; it could be a huge success. What has happened in the past suggests that just copying similar features won't be enough to attract an audience. So this could cause Facebook to go back and try to purchase Snapchat again in 2014; however, it seems Google will be looking into this as well after reportedly having a 4 billion dollar off rejected as well.
Alex is part of the marketing team at Social Media Frontiers; he also runs his own blog where you can see this article and others at Alex talks Social Media.
Contact us on Twitter, on Facebook, or leave your comments below. To find out about social media training or management why not take a look at our website for more info http://socialmediacambridge.co.uk/
InstaChat - Instagram launches Instagram Direct
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Reviewed by Alex Carson
on
Friday, December 13, 2013
Rating:
Alex Carson
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