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07/11/2012 by
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Competing With Instagram Is A Waste Of Time

Because of Instagram’s success, other social media platforms are frantically trying to come up with ways to compete. The commonly heard reaction around the web? No way that is going to happen.

Source: Shutterstock & Instagram

In this article, you will read more about the ways Google, Twitter, and even Coca-Cola are trying to get their share of photography app success, and why they need more than just filters and an app to do this.

The fact that Facebook felt the need to acquire Instagram shows us that the photography platform is breathing down the necks of every major social medium out there. Facebook released its own camera app, which also offers the possibility to add filters.

Instagram’s no. 1 status became even more apparent when Google bought Nik Software, the company that develops the popular photo editing app and so-called Instagram competitor, Snapseed.

Last week, The New York Times announced that Twitter is planning on adding photo filters to its mobile app. This way, Tweeters can lose Instagram altogether, and directly add filters to photos they want to Tweet.

Even Coca-Cola is trying to get in the game. They are planning on launching a photo-service called Happy Places, in line with their eternal Happiness related marketing strategy. A free app has been released to show the public what Happy Places will look like. Photos can be taken directly with the app, or uploaded from your phone.

Happy Places is meant to be a showcase of users’ happy moments. Hashtags can be added, other users can like and comment on your moments, and photos can be shared on all major social media platforms. The only component that is missing is the possibility to add filters to your photos.

The question is, will these photo-, editing-, and filtering apps ever be able to match Instagram’s success? Coca-Cola’s app can be compared to Instagram, and it can even get some buzz just because of the brand name. But will Instagram users ever leave Instagram? No chance, says Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom:

“None of those things threaten Instagram, because Instagram is a community, not a filters app.”

And it is a tight-knit community at that. This was especially noticeable in the aftermath of hurricane Sandy.

In an article by TechCrunch it was stated that there were 800,000 photos tagged hurricane Sandy. With this many photos, it is hard to make a selection of the most important ones. The solution, according to Systrom? Instagram should become a big data company.

With Facebook’s big data expertise and data scientists on their side, Instagram can become much more than a community: “It could further a major shift in how people consume the world around them.” And with that, Instagram’s success will become unreachable.

What do you think of Coca-Cola’s and Twitter’s attempts to copy Instagram? Will any app ever come close to Instagram’s success? We’d love to hear your thoughts!


About the author
Marion aan ‘t Goor is a recently graduated marketer and is a Junior Social Media Consultant at Share Force One. You can connect with Marion via Twitter and LinkedIn.