Instagram // Blog 6

-

I’ve had Instagram since the 6th grade and it has changed so much since then. Instagram has been one of my most favorite and most used apps since I can remember and researching it took me back to that time in my life. Instagram first started in 2009 by Kevin Systrom, who used to work at google and Odeo, what later become Twitter. Systrom had very little training in coding but would practiceon during the weekends and at night to become better. Eventually, he built a prototype app called Burbn, an app for people to check in places, post plans and share photos. The photo share is what made Burbn special and different because there really wasn't an app with that feature out yet.

In 2010, Systrom went to a work party where he had met 2 capitalists from the Silicon Valley. He showed them the startup of Burbn and decided to meet again for coffee to discuss the app in more detail. Systrom ended up quitting his current job to further develop the app and ended up raising $500,000 in funding for Burbn. This money was used for putting together a team for the app which included Mike Krieger. Kriger was an engineer and had also worked for the social media platform Meebo. After Kriger joined the team, him and Systrom released Burbn. The app mainly focused on photos taken on mobile devices. After taking a look at its potential, the 2 decided to focus on the photo sharing with simple liking and commenting purpose. It was at this time when they renamed the app Instagram, short for instant telegram. They wanted the Instagram app to be simple, minimalistic and easy to use just like the name.

The app launched in October of 2010 and immediately people started downloading it. Attracting over 25,000 users in only one day, it was an instant hit. By December, Instagram had over 100,000 users. Part of the reason the app was so successful is because the iPhone 4 had just been released allowing better photos to be taken on the device to then be shared on Instagram.

Instagram was an instant success and therefore started gaining more and more publicity. By February 2011, Instagram had over $7 million for funding. This new chance gave Kriger and Systrom the opportunity to hire new employees for the company and expand, but they decided overall it was better to keep the company small, with less than 12 workers. By March 2012 Instagram had reached 27 million users and had caught the attention of Facebook. By April, Facebook purchased the company for $1 billion in cash and stock.

Throughout the years Instagram has grown ever more popular but has remained the same simple app focused on photo and video share. The number of people using the app has continued to increase daily, making it a worthwhile purchase for Facebook. Instagram has kept up with the times and added some new features that make the app better. The more popular features of the app have been the addition of tagging a location and adding hashtags along with filters, stories, and of course adding the option to post a video. 

Instagram has defiantly grown and evolved since 2010 but has kept it original simplicity and easy to use demeanor.  Instagram is projected to grow to 117.2 million users by 2021. This app has grown and developed so much in only 11 years, it will be amazing to watch it grow more in the future.

5 Ways to Source and Create Quality Instagram Content - Venngage

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/102615/story-instagram-rise-1-photo0sharing-app.asp

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Final Exam Blog // My Social Media Presence

-
Image
     My Social Footprint From a very young age I was always taught to be careful what I was posting on social media. My mom and dad would tell me "be careful what you post because it is not temporary, and is forever!" The more I think about that statement, the more it starts to make sense. For example, you post a picture, but 5 minutes later change your mind. .  Hundreds of people could have seen it, screen shotted it, and even though you deleted it, its still floating around out there somewhere. Anything I post can be pulled up by potential employers, friends, anybody so it is so incredibly important t be educated about social media and know if what you're posting is worth it in the end.      I would say I have a pretty large social media footprint. A social media footprint is "   is the trail that you leave behind for others to find every time you every time you post on social media" according to socialmediatoday.com. Considering that I have almost every form
Read more

Privacy // Blog 9

-
Image
Privacy in this day and age is something that is taken very seriously, but is also something many people know little about. Social media and technology has become something we use everyday, and it's so important that we know and are inducted about what we are giving out when we use technology or social media. After watching many different TED Talks about the digital age and the treat it can pose on on individuals, its become more clear that the government, and anybody with an education in technology/coding can access information we thought was private.  One TED Talk that stood out to me personally was by Darieth Chisolm, who focused her presentation on "Revenge Porn" or digital harassment. She opened up with a very personal story about how her ex boyfriend created and shared naked pictures of her from Jamaica after she ended the controlling relationship. There was really nothing that she could do herself, so she decided to get the government involved, which meant sharing
Read more

8 values of Free Expression // Key Post

-
Image
     In class there was a discussion of the 8 values of free expression. These speech theories include the marketplace of free ideas, participation in  self-government, stable change, individual self-fulfillment, check on governmental power, promote tolerance, promote innovation and lastly protect dissent. From my understanding, all of these values are how we understand and utilize our right to free speech or the first amendment.      The question of which one resonates the most with me is "promote innovation." Promoting innovation is "a community in which free speech is values and protected is like to be a more energized, creative, interesting society as its citizens actively  fulfill themselves in many diverse and interesting ways." I personally resonate with this value of free expression because I really agree with constantly growing and evolving as a person, and as a society. If you are not growing and learning new things, nothing is ever going to improve! If we
Read more