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Instagram just announced a new feature, allowing users to post pictures or videos on the site, which will then disappear after 24 hours. This is a business model that Snapchat based its entire structure around, and now, the Facebook-owned image-sharing site is trying to invade its territory after getting rebuffed back in 2013.
Facebook offered to buy Snapchat for $3 billion back in 2013, which the photo-sharing app rejected, The Boston Globe reports. Since then, Mark Zuckerberg’s own company has been trying and failing to capture the magic of Snapchat through various clones. Now, Facebook is trying another tactic, which is to put Instagram in direct competition with Snapchat.
Originally, Snapchat drew interest to its services by allowing users to send pictures to people, which would self-destruct after a few seconds. This made it popular among young couples who were sending illicit pictures to each other without the fear of the images spreading.
Since its early days, the social media site extended the amount of time that photos could last, finally reaching 24 hours. This seems to have resonated well with users since the number of people using Snapchat has been increasing steadily.
Instagram means to stop this progress through a feature it calls “Stories,” the International Business Times reports. Like with Snapchat, users can post pictures and videos through “Stories” and they will disappear within 24 hours. This puts the two social media platforms in direct collision with each other, and many are wondering how far Facebook is willing to take this fight.
CNET senior editor Dan Ackerman spoke to CBS regarding the matter and explained that this move by Instagram is most likely a means of trying to stay ahead of the game. Users can be fickle in their interest of social media sites, with Twitter’s declining user numbers being a good example of this phenomenon.
Supposedly, Snapchat offers a more authentic approach in sharing photos, which is something that younger people appreciate. This explains its massive popularity and why Facebook just can’t resist getting in on the action.
