Instagram Is Over • Hacker News Board

Re: Instagram Is Over

#21

Post by coldtea » Sat, Dec 03, 2022, 4:58 PM UTC

prpl wrote: post #18

Instagram was over when all the “kids” were on Snapchat, except it wasn’t. Maybe it is, but it will be a death by 500 million cuts, not a max exodus. There is no clear successor.

>There is no clear successor.

Successor to what? As if it serves some purpose? This is like wondering what will "successfully replace" a tumor that's to be removed...

(And, yes, you can have millions of users without service a purpose, at least not any useful one. All kinds of crap has).

Re: Instagram Is Over

#22

Post by itake » Sat, Dec 03, 2022, 4:58 PM UTC

Walking through the mall yesterday, I was shocked to see 5+ adults watch FB Reels / IG / TikTok. I think FB might be right about video being the future.

Re: Instagram Is Over

#23

Post by jibe » Sat, Dec 03, 2022, 5:00 PM UTC

warkanlock wrote: post #19

This is one of the biggest jibes I have ever read, given that Meta's MAU is the highest of all time (2.9b, if I remember correctly) Instagram it's not over, and I bet will win the battle against TikTok

Jibe?

Re: Instagram Is Over

#24

Post by dmix » Sat, Dec 03, 2022, 5:01 PM UTC

dmje wrote: post #12

Eldest son (17) and all his mates use it - very rarely do they post publicly, it's purely for messaging. I've never been sure why, there's plenty enough alternatives, but that's how it is for him and his cohort.

It’s used heavily in dating these days. We use instagram as a messenger because that’s what everyone has and it’s socially easier to ask a new person for the instagram rather than their phone number.

Its predictable and not entirely private like a close friend group chat on iMessage or WhatsApp. Plus of course the way it integrates with feeds of photo/videos you’re already looking at casually.

The same way FB used to be.

Re: Instagram Is Over

#25

Post by mkl95 » Sat, Dec 03, 2022, 5:07 PM UTC

Instagram is "transitional" technology. It peaked at a time when traditional social networks had started their slow decline, and things like Snapchat and TikTok were gaining some popularity. These days it's a bit too open for traditional users, and a bit too boring for the average TikTok user. It will always fill a niche, but it will inevitably shrink by at least an order of magnitude.

Re: Instagram Is Over

#26

Post by dugmartin » Sat, Dec 03, 2022, 5:08 PM UTC

dmje wrote: post #12

Eldest son (17) and all his mates use it - very rarely do they post publicly, it's purely for messaging. I've never been sure why, there's plenty enough alternatives, but that's how it is for him and his cohort.

I’m pretty sure your son and his mates all have finstas and post a lot - you are just not seeing it (source: having two teenage daughters)

Re: Instagram Is Over

#27

Post by viburnum » Sat, Dec 03, 2022, 5:09 PM UTC

“In other words, Instagram is giving us the ick: that feeling when a romantic partner or crush does something small but noticeable—like wearing a fedora—that immediately turns you off forever”

This was so ridiculously judgmental that I couldn’t keep reading.

Re: Instagram Is Over

#28

Post by rpxio » Sat, Dec 03, 2022, 5:10 PM UTC

barnabee wrote: post #16

Instagram as a social network sucks but I like sharing my photos with people who are already my friends (private account), and seeing their photos too.

my close friends and family have moved to the app Locket for sharing photos. much more direct and less "social" features (likes, follows, reels) that i don't care about.

Re: Instagram Is Over

#29

Post by viburnum » Sat, Dec 03, 2022, 5:11 PM UTC

x86_64Ubuntu wrote: post #6

I don't know if IG is dead, but that Reels nonsense was an absolute fiasco. They kept showing me reels that were nonsensical and were only designed to lead engagement stats from questions of "what is the person trying to do here". Not to mention, the comments on many of these useless vids were always in Turkish. I don't speak Turkish, I've never been to Turkey, yet comments on videos were always in Turkish.

I get the baffling Turkish videos too. It’s a shame, instagram used to show me landscape architecture photos that I was genuinely interested in. And it doesn’t matter how much I flag it as not interesting, the random videos never stop.

Re: Instagram Is Over

#30

Post by bsnnkv » Sat, Dec 03, 2022, 5:11 PM UTC

My anecdata is that all IG is really used for anymore is messaging due to inertia and cross-posting content from other platforms. Very little original user generated content.

Fundamentally, these old apps that are built on the "create an account and manually follow users" model cannot compete with TikTok right now, and I don't think they'll be able to change to be competitive with TikTok in the future.