Live data from Hacker News

Instagram daily use surpasses Snapchat

techcrunch.com

71–80 of 99 posts

Re: Instagram daily use surpasses Snapchat

#71
post #28

The whole point of Snapchat is that it's not about sitting down, taking a high quality photo, editing it, etc. It's a messaging app meant for quick replies. You send someone something and they reply back. That's fundamentally different from Instagram's model of user interaction. It's like comparing time spent in iMessage to time spent on YouTube: it doesn't make sense.

You're looking at the wrong parts of Instagram. Instagram Stories and Direct Messaging (both of those = Snapchat minus discover) have really taken off. I think everyone I know has switched away from Snapchat. The main reason being that they were also already on Instagram and it now does what Snapchat does plus non-ephermeral photo sharing. Why be on both in that case?

Anecdotal, but this was me. Once I realized that I can find and follow more interesting people on Instagram in comparison to Snapchat, I stopped using Snapchat altogether.

Re: Instagram daily use surpasses Snapchat

#72

I'll be concerned about $SNAP when Instagram is used in lieu of texting.

I wonder how Snapchat's messaging metrics compare to Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp - if I had to guess, both easily squash Snapchat.

Probably very highly dependent on which age group. Pre-teens/teens? Snapchat. 20's? Messenger. 30+? Messenger and WhatsApp.

Re: Instagram daily use surpasses Snapchat

#74
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Google intentionally slowed its search results by 10%, would people not spend more time on the site? Perhaps even to the tune of 10%? But would people suddenly love Google 10% more? As a more explicit example, Facebook used to allow you to type a friend's name into the search bar on desktop, and a card would come down (with other possible people too you could select/down-arrow to) so when you hit enter you would g…

I'm convinced that Facebook's algorithmic newsfeed is deliberately filled with things they know I'm not interested in because the time it takes me to scroll past them increases "engagement". EDIT: And creates more ad slots, obviously

Like how milk is always in the entrance-opposite corner of the grocery store

Re: Instagram daily use surpasses Snapchat

#75

I really can't get over how poor I find Snapchat's UI/UX to be, and I don't _think_ it's because I'm old. But I second-guess it.

Snapchat is very easy and intuitive to use. I'll never understand people saying they can't use the app. Also every US college student right now uses Snapchat for all communication. FB should be scared

Re: Instagram daily use surpasses Snapchat

#76
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

insta and snapchat aren't productivity apps, they're essentially time wasters. so yeah, minutes per day is a decent metric for success. when Google Sheets starts bragging about their minutes per day metric then i'll start getting worried.

I'd argue that snapchat is much closer to a productivity app than instagram. Snapchat makes picture (and now regular) messaging faster and more fire&forget. Instagram is just other feed for the user to slog through.

Have you seen SnapChat stories? Its basically a daily feed of a persons snaps/ snap videos. I think its much closer to instagram "feed"

Re: Instagram daily use surpasses Snapchat

#77

I really can't get over how poor I find Snapchat's UI/UX to be, and I don't _think_ it's because I'm old. But I second-guess it.

I believe this is part of their strategy, it requires somebody else who already uses the app to teach you. This keeps the platform exclusive to tech-savvy youth instead of being infested by old people and falling out of favor with those groups like Facebook did.

Re: Instagram daily use surpasses Snapchat

#78
post #5

What do people think about "minutes per day" as a metric for success? I think it represents a fundamental misalignment of goals between users and the company. By this metric, the more of your waking life that can be taken, the better.

I think it should be combined with some type of valuation. Like minutes per day divided by the profit of the average user.

Re: Instagram daily use surpasses Snapchat

#79
post #28

The whole point of Snapchat is that it's not about sitting down, taking a high quality photo, editing it, etc. It's a messaging app meant for quick replies. You send someone something and they reply back. That's fundamentally different from Instagram's model of user interaction. It's like comparing time spent in iMessage to time spent on YouTube: it doesn't make sense.

Nope. Now the point of snapchat is to binge watch videos of other people. Snapchat sells ads the same way the media company does. So their KPI is time spent, like how a broadcast company determines ad rates. Their strategy is to detach the accountability of clicks or performance. You spend six figures with Snap to impress your brands to the same demo (Gen Z) that used to tune in to MTV (Gen X) and Youtube (Gen Y). As…

according to snap execs, sure. according to their users, still messaging friends
Post reply on HN