Instagram is gradually becoming a second Facebook with a series of algorithms and countless ads. The article represents the opinion of author John Devo from Techradar about the change of Instagram compared to the early days.
Instagram used to be a place where you could find community and discover your passion for photography. Since 2017, however, I’ve noticed a change as the platform transitions to algorithmically sorting photos in news feeds. This change causes the images displayed to be related to the characters or issues that the user is interested in. This is the reason photographers are no longer interested in this application even though it used to be a place to incubate their passion. The original Instagram app. Photo: Techradar. Before Instagram, photography forums and platforms like Flickr and Tumblr used to be a place to connect photo lovers with each other. These communities are run by forum administrators or members. And most of all, without any intervention of algorithms like today. The Algorithms Behind Instagram Instagram has billions of users every month, so it’s impossible to control the huge amount of content posted every day. According to the Omnicore , up to 95 million images are shared every day on this app. Instagram has used algorithms instead of human factors to control and decide which content should be shown priority. Specifically, only posts with your personal photos or special moments will be prioritized by Instagram. It seems that this algorithm is “Facebookizing” Instagram. Users reflect on Instagram’s new algorithm, asking the app to bring back the chronological display of photos. Photo: Techradar. I tried posting an old photo of myself on Instagram with my birthday message. Surprisingly, this photo got the most engagement of anything I’ve posted in the past 12 months. The artworks of these photographers will now be difficult to reach their Instagram followers. On average, only 5-10% of followers interact and comment on each photographer’s post. Specifically, you will get 150-300 interactions for every 3,000 followers you have, or even less. According to Instagram, their algorithm has not changed, if you want to get a lot of likes, then work hard to interact with other accounts. A rival shopping and copying app Instagram seems to be obsessed with competing in the market by copying the competition. The proof is after the success of TikTok with the total number of app downloads increasing by 800% from the beginning of 2018 to the end of 2019. Not long after that, Instagram responded by launching the Reels function in August 2020. At the same time, TikTok launched e-commerce support on each of its videos. On December 10, 2020, Instagram announced that a shopping feature was integrated into Reels similar to what TikTok did. Instagram’s shopping feature and Snapchat’s Instagram stories feature were copied from Snapchat. Photo: Techradar. Facebook is also adding Instagram features to its platform. Stories on Instagram can now also appear on Facebook, and more than that Facebook is preparing to test the Reels feature. There are still many other options It looks like Twitter and TikTok are benefiting from users who are frustrated that Instagram is slowly becoming Facebook. Twitter is a suitable platform for photographers while still carrying the same values as the photography forums of the past. Additionally, Twitter has just launched a 4K photo feature on its mobile app. Facebook allows users to cross-share Reels from Instagram. Photo: Techradar. Besides, video content creators on TikTok are encroaching on Youtube with popular “how-to” videos. Instagram needs change If possible, Instagram should give users the choice of showing photos in the news feed between appearing in chronological order or by interaction between accounts. Next are the paid plans, with these users will not be affected by the advertising of third parties. In addition, Instagram should have more premium plans for businesses and celebrities that come with benefits like sales and advertising.
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