How Instagram Has Changed Over The Years

Social media has been at the forefront of making the world a global village. Using social media, you can get real-time information about anything happening worldwide. And Instagram is a leading social media platform that helps connect communities. It has been in use since 2010 when it was launched. You can leverage this platform for the success of your business as a marketing tool for your products.

The millennial generation mostly prefers it. Probably, it's because of its quality use of pictures and videos that attracts this generation. Today, Instagram has more than 1.393 billion monthly active users globally. And the subscription to the social media platform is expected to rise in the coming years. Over the last decade, the platform has undergone tremendous transformation through inventions.

Keep reading to understand the changes Instagram has undergone over the last ten years. Here is a list of their inventions:

1. Introduction Of Third-Party Apps

Like other online platforms, you can easily use dedicated third-party platforms to access Instagram. One of the apps is meant to track Instagram activity incognito. Thus, you can easily spy on someone's behavior on Instagram without knowing they're being stalked. It's a good idea for parents who are suspicious of their children online. If you'd like to know how your child spends time on Instagram, you can install a tracking tool on your mobile phone to check the information they consume.

Moreover, using the app, you can receive real-time updates on what someone is doing online and also be able to download Instagram content. It's easy to use any activity trackers because you don't need to sign in to their page.

2. Invention Of Instagram News Feeds

If you've been an active user of Instagram, there is no doubt you've been receiving post updates, also called news feeds. It includes content posted by your friends, other people, or organizations you follow. Additionally, news feeds are in the form of suggested posts that you might be interested in reading. Moreover, ads from advertisers of products that might be relevant to you might be pushed on your news feeds.

In most cases, you receive a news feed relevant to your searches. Like other social media platforms, Instagram uses bots powered by artificial intelligence to learn your surfing habits. These bots monitor your activities online to know the kind of feeds to push at the top of your page.

What you follow, like, and your connections might also influence the type of feeds Instagram bots will reveal on your timeline. The posts appear in the order of priority, with the essential appearing at the top of your page. Instagram algorithms determine the degree of importance.

3. Introduction Of The Hashtag

The hashtag is a quickly growing strategy Instagram users prefer when seeking to gather or initiate a conversation on a specific topic. You can use the hashtag to level up your brand and engagement concerning your product. There are many trending Instagram hashtags that can help you catch up with any trending topics and conversations. They include #love, #happy, #instagood, #photography, #fashion, #art, #beautiful and #photooftheday.

If you use a specific trending hashtag, your post will be sent on the page for that hashtag. The same thing happens when you include a hashtag on your Instagram Story.

4. The Direct Messenger

This feature is essential in helping you send messages, videos, and photos to friends on Instagram. Direct Messaging or "DMs" comes with captions and effects. Beyond messages, you can connect with your friends using video chats. You can attach selfie stickers, message effects, and custom reactions to your messages. In addition, you can choose to customize conversations using preferred colors and themes.

If you don't want your messages to stay for a long time, you can activate the vanish mode so that your messages and photos can disappear once they've been read or when you leave the chat.

5. Introduction Of Reels

Reels is a video-sharing feature on Instagram. It leverages short and high-quality videos. Reels is highly optimized to ensure users can capture and edit their videos with the inclusion of captions. As a result, if you'd like to advertise your product, you can create a short video that you can upload on Instagram Reels. However, for the success of your videos, avoid uploading videos from other platforms containing watermarks.

6. Photo Filters

This technology might not be different from the one in your mobile phone camera. The filter effect can be a game-changer in transforming your photos before posting them. Today, it's believed that there are about eleven filters on Instagram that allow you to add retro-chic to your pictures with either brightened colors or fading effects.

Final Thoughts

Since the inception of Instagram in 2010, it has been a journey of growth and introduction of new features that have improved user experience. In this article, we have summarized the significant changes Instagram has gone through over the last decade. We are certain that more features will be invented and added to Instagram in the near future.