Yeah! You read that right, we’re talking about Snapchat Instagram Stories.
Hot on the heels of Snapchat, Instagram (owned by Facebook) has yesterday announced that Stories are rolling out.
The reaction has been a mixture, with some drawing the obvious parallels between the two platforms – as the ‘stories’ does, at first glance, seem to be a direct lift from Snapchat.
The reaction from the wider twitterverse has been exciting to watch as always – but it hasn’t gone unnoticed that Instagram and Snapchat are in desperate need of some serious relationship counselling. Whether this has been the intention or desire is – at least at this stage – academic.
Lmao the beef between snapchat and Instagram is real?
But is it really a direct lift? I mean, sure, it’s evidently taken from Snapchat – but is it just lifted? It seems it may not be as simple as that.
Snapchat is amongst the most commonly asked for training topics HypeStar gets because – while it has an undeniable niche – it isn’t the most user-friendly application that’s out there. As more businesses look to Instagram as a way to engage a youthful audience, there is a problem of how to use an application that isn’t as familiar of intuitive as others.
This is where the Facebook-owned Instagram user experience tends to pip others to the post – it’s really simple to use.
And yet, it’s not what many wanted
In the light of the day – while many have been excited about a new feature, it doesn’t address what many users are wanting from Instagram.With some not seeing the virtue of the new feature at all.
So is it worth trying?
Yes. Probably.
Good artists copy; great artists steal
The reality is that this is a good feature, a great feature maybe. It’s very much all that Snapchat Stories is, and none of what it isn’t. In an industry where user experience (UX) is the absolute epitome of excellence and usage, Snapchat may well have just lost a huge battle here.
If you want to try Instagram Stories for yourself, make sure your app is up to date (head to your device specific app store) and get the latest version. You’ll see stories from people you follow in a bar at the top of your feed — from your best friends to your favourite popular accounts. When there’s something new to see, their profile photo will have a colourful ring around it.
To view someone’s story, just tap on their profile photo. It’s easy to view stories at your own pace: tap to go back and forward or swipe to jump to another person’s story. If you want to comment on something you see, you can tap and send a private message to that person on Instagram Direct. Unlike regular posts, there are no likes or public comments.
