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So apparently it took off, but why? Where did the initial 25.000 users come from? In my opinion Instagram is completely useless and doesn't add anything to our

by Avalaxy 12y ago

So apparently it took off, but why? Where did the initial 25.000 users come from? In my opinion Instagram is completely useless and doesn't add anything to our lives. I really don't see the value of sharing photos with some "artistic" filter applied to them. I can share photos on facebook if I want, or on Twitter. I can edit photos with my phone, no instagram needed.

robmcm 12y ago
It stops people from uploading the 200 photos they took on a night out, by not having a bulk option. Rather they just upload one or two making the viewing more pleasant.
k-mcgrady 12y ago
>> "I can share photos on facebook if I want, or on Twitter" And if you didn't use Facebook or Twitter and wanted somewhere to share your photos you'd probably use Instagram. The filters enable you to make shitty photos look better in one tap. Lots of people don't use them. I think that was the initial appeal but now that cameras are better it's just a good place to share and view photos. The ability to share it to lots of other sites in one tap is also very useful. >> "I can edit photos with my phone, no instagram needed." So can I. Instagram isn't really a photo editor. You can apply filters and do basic edits but that's the point. If you apply the filters your stuff automatically 'looks good' and you don't need to spend time editing.
wellboy 12y ago
It's a mathematical equation. They had an existing email list from Burbn of a couple of thousand users that they emailed when they launched Instagram. These users were extremely targeted because they already knew the company and because they were interested in photo sharing apps. Then the viral co-efficient was a lot higher than 1, maybe something around 3, because it was a good product. Users used the app a lot and told their friends about it. Then you add social sharing on facebook and twitter and you have enough growth, simple. :)
nilkn 12y ago
Instagram is actually one of the few social networks which seems to be to be really easy to understand. Instagram is specifically about sharing cool photos, emphasis on the cool. So you toss out the 90% of photos you took that nobody else would be interested in. It's also specifically about photos that you took, unlike things like Tumblr where people just recycle stock photos. Therefore it's actually interesting to follow a friend on Instagram. But there are a few more details that make it work. First, it encourages the use of filters. These filters have been criticized a lot for being "hipster", but let's face it -- adding strong sepia tones or making photos really high contrast tend to make people look better in photos. They block out your flaws. The use of filters on a per-photo basis also works in with what I mentioned earlier, the idea that you don't just dump all your photos on Instagram but instead specifically look only for cool ones. Second, it's simple. Facebook has become this huge, monolithic, hilariously complex and borderline incomprehensible beast. Who even knows what algorithm goes into constructing your news feed? When I go on Facebook I'm inundated with a ton of content almost none of which is "cool" -- ads, links to random videos or articles that someone I know "liked" or "shared", photo dumps, etc. Facebook is like a big family gathering where you cover up that tattoo you recently got with your sleeves, and the talk of the party has died down and now you're sitting on the sofa watching ads on the TV for products that you're not interested in, waiting for the ads to end so a show will come on that you're also not interested in.
lotso 12y ago
I guess you could argue socializing is completely useless and doesn't add anything to our lives, but that would be pretty dumb, huh?
aswanson 12y ago
This post reminds of this response to Dropbox launching here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224

by Avalaxy 12y ago

robmcm 12y ago

It stops people from uploading the 200 photos they took on a night out, by not having a bulk option. Rather they just upload one or two making the viewing more pleasant.

k-mcgrady 12y ago

>> "I can share photos on facebook if I want, or on Twitter" And if you didn't use Facebook or Twitter and wanted somewhere to share your photos you'd probably use Instagram. The filters enable you to make shitty photos look better in one tap. Lots of people don't use them. I think that was the initial appeal but now that cameras are better it's just a good place to share and view photos. The ability to share it to lots of other sites in one tap is also very useful. >> "I can edit photos with my phone, no instagram needed." So can I. Instagram isn't really a photo editor. You can apply filters and do basic edits but that's the point. If you apply the filters your stuff automatically 'looks good' and you don't need to spend time editing.

wellboy 12y ago

It's a mathematical equation. They had an existing email list from Burbn of a couple of thousand users that they emailed when they launched Instagram. These users were extremely targeted because they already knew the company and because they were interested in photo sharing apps. Then the viral co-efficient was a lot higher than 1, maybe something around 3, because it was a good product. Users used the app a lot and told their friends about it. Then you add social sharing on facebook and twitter and you have enough growth, simple. :)

nilkn 12y ago

Instagram is actually one of the few social networks which seems to be to be really easy to understand. Instagram is specifically about sharing cool photos, emphasis on the cool. So you toss out the 90% of photos you took that nobody else would be interested in. It's also specifically about photos that you took, unlike things like Tumblr where people just recycle stock photos. Therefore it's actually interesting to follow a friend on Instagram. But there are a few more details that make it work. First, it encourages the use of filters. These filters have been criticized a lot for being "hipster", but let's face it -- adding strong sepia tones or making photos really high contrast tend to make people look better in photos. They block out your flaws. The use of filters on a per-photo basis also works in with what I mentioned earlier, the idea that you don't just dump all your photos on Instagram but instead specifically look only for cool ones. Second, it's simple. Facebook has become this huge, monolithic, hilariously complex and borderline incomprehensible beast. Who even knows what algorithm goes into constructing your news feed? When I go on Facebook I'm inundated with a ton of content almost none of which is "cool" -- ads, links to random videos or articles that someone I know "liked" or "shared", photo dumps, etc. Facebook is like a big family gathering where you cover up that tattoo you recently got with your sleeves, and the talk of the party has died down and now you're sitting on the sofa watching ads on the TV for products that you're not interested in, waiting for the ads to end so a show will come on that you're also not interested in.

lotso 12y ago

I guess you could argue socializing is completely useless and doesn't add anything to our lives, but that would be pretty dumb, huh?

aswanson 12y ago

This post reminds of this response to Dropbox launching here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224