Tuesday, Instagram users saw an update appear in their app
store. The first part of the update now
shows users trending topics, tags and places that is continually updated,
allowing us to look at events and pictures in real-time that are happening
nearby. If you are looking for a more worldly view, you can also select various
locations around the word, rather than only viewing local content.
Coincidentally
(not terribly), this update has come just days after Twitter announced Project
Lightning – an update coming this Fall, where users will see even more timely
events as they are happening. While I don’t think Instagram will ever rival
Twitter for its ability to break news as it happens, this certainly gets my
attention as a play to begin to compete. The problem as I see it is that
Instagram isn’t updated as often or as quickly by users as Twitter is. That’s
why the hashtag “#latergram” is so popular on Instagram. I believe more people
tend to upload photos hours or days after a photo was taken. I know this is
true for me. If I’ve got something I find exciting to share with my community,
I will first go to Twitter with it, over Instagram, knowing that I can post a
photo at any time to the latter’s platform.
The second part
of the update now includes curated content. This content currently is chosen by
the Instagram team (as opposed to each user) and offers a rotating choice of
topics such as “NBA Rising Stars,” “Trending Places,” “Extreme Athletes” and “Towering
Rocks.” It remains to be seen if a time will come that we will be able to
choose our own topics, which personally seems like it would be more beneficial.
I’m an NFL fan, I’d much rather see “NFL Rising Stars,” I don’t much mind
missing out on NBA rising stars. Call me when Michael Jordan’s records are
being obliterated!
For local
marketing initiatives, the trending places will be helpful. Once you click on “Trending
Places,” you are taken to another screen with both cities and venues. You can
choose to see more of what is happening near your physical location, or satisfy
your sense of wanderlust and explore exotic locations you might not otherwise
have access to.
What I find most
interesting is that Instagram still does not allow users to seamlessly toggle
between accounts. As someone that manages the social media for multiple
clients, this is a feature that I NEED. We know that the technology allows for
this – Twitter has always allowed you to easily switch between accounts without
having to log in and out and remember even more passwords. Even more
interesting is that with all the people tweeting and mentioning and bemoaning
the inability to do this on Instagram, there has been no response from the
company. I would be pacified with even a simple “We hear you,” or “Here is why
we don’t currently have that feature” response. Social media stats come out
daily about how many people expect quicker responses when tweeting to brands
nowadays, and to have a company as largely used as Instagram not address our
concerns and opinions is surprising to me.
What do YOU
think? How will you use the new Instagram explore tab? Will you begin to look
to Instagram for another source of breaking news?
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