You may have read our story the other day speculating about Instagram introducing a feature that competes directly with Twitter.
If you missed that story, check it out at this link. As we told there, Twitter, as you may or may not realize, is currently going through it. And Instagram’s parent company, Meta, seems to see an opportunity amidst the chaos.
The new “Notes” feature was launched today in an official blog post on the Meta website calling it a “new way to share your thoughts and see what your friends are up to.”
Of course, this isn’t the only new feature revealed; the company also talks about “Candid Stories” and “Group Profiles”.
The first thing we noticed is that, while it looks like Twitter, it’s not quite Twitter. First, the notes are quite short – 60 characters – and the audience can be limited or adjusted depending on who you are targeting. Nonetheless, the addition of this feature, something people have both desired and speculated about in the past, brings Instagram much closer to becoming an app that is more than just photography and video – a point that has been steadily emphasized over the past two years or so.
The other two new features, “Add Yours” and “Candid Stories” are all about audience engagement with the first prompting users to post a themed image and the second focusing on what users are doing on the spot. Again, the audience for such posts is customizable allowing for a varying experience depending on who you are trying to reach.
A new group feature that sounds like Instagram brings a popular Facebook feature to its platform with people sharing and collaborating within that space. Accordingly, new collaboration features will enable collaborative collections between users.
Any thoughts on Instagram’s latest addition? Let us know what you think of Instagram – or Twitter – in the comments.
Check out some more photography news at this link.
[Meta]
baresi