Introducing Instagram Direct
blog.instagram.com
blog.instagram.com
Edit: I am really wondering if I'm missing something here with my above post, not just trying to be a dick for no reason.
Some of the awe inspiring breakthroughs are often extremely boring technically. I started my career in the computational chemistry and was looking over the shoulder of the guys doing some really bleeding etch research on organic compounds simulation. Oh, man, do you know how boring it is for a programmer? You're looking at the handwritten prototype of the research paper, filled with quantum physics formulae and encode all this greek language into FORTRAN-IV. Then you run it for a week and either go collecting Nobel prize or finding bugs in your "program".
It's equivalent to someone that prefers non-fiction scientific educational TV shows, claiming that it's outrageous all of the money goes toward sitcoms or the next Avengers movie.
"When you're young, you look at television and think, There's a conspiracy. The networks have conspired to dumb us down. But when you get a little older, you realize that's not true. The networks are in business to give people exactly what they want. That's a far more depressing thought. Conspiracy is optimistic! You can shoot the bastards! We can have a revolution! But the networks are really in business to give people what they want. It's the truth." - Steve Jobs, Interview in WIRED magazine (February 1996)
Instagram itself wasn't some grand innovation. It's an experience product, that's meant to be easy to use and fun. It's not here to cure cancer, it never pretended to, and it doesn't need to attempt to.
I've checked the current API docs [1] as well as the Google Group [2] and the StackOverflow Posts [3]. There's nothing mentioning it yet.
This would be an awesome feature to have available in third party apps, so that one could have it in other chat clients apart from the official iPhone app. Adium is one example, but there're probably even better solutions. After all, one of the most annoying things about WhatsApp is that I have to use my phone to answer messages or read messages. It just feels stupid to tap away on a small screen to send a digital message while I have a 27" screen and a full keyboard right in front of me. That is something where iMessage and Facebook messages are way better.
Also, there were, for quite some time, third party Instagram messaging solutions [4], and I'm really happy that they're finally implementing this straight into Instagram. Beforehand, you'd see people having discussions that were bordering on being private by continuously posting comments to an image. This happened all the time. Now these discussions can move into private space.
[1] http://instagram.com/developer/endpoints/
[2] https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/instagram-api-develo...
After the Twitter example, APIs are not attractive to these kind of startups. If you give full capabilities to 3rd party developers, they're going to create clients for other systems and the startup will lose control over its content and how it's shown to users (ads).
What's wrong with texting though? My friends and I have been texting and group texting images and short video for years. Why do people like having an app for this?
Cost. International availability.
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia_Messaging_Service
[2]: http://developer.verizon.com/content/vdc/en/verizon-tools-ap...
[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia_Messaging_Service#Ch...
Considering most "snaps" are sent between friends and family these days, it's important to understand that friends aren't fucking each other over to save pictures of cats with finger-painted mustaches.
Of course, if someone is dead-set on saving a picture from Snapchat then it's possible... but Snapchat isn't about sending dick pics anymore. I believe it's outgrown that, the same way when Vine started with was essentially an amateur porn broadcasting app. For the general public, Snapchat images appear and then they go poof, but I agree with you... it's hard to stop dicks from being dicks no matter how you send your photos.
But the one objective fact about the situation is that Snapchat is still the most convenient way to send photos and videos that are reasonably guaranteed to virtually disappear. Saving them out of Snapchat secretly isn't a priority nor is it trivial for 99% of people using the service.
And it's about much more than just being goofy. You share random things from your daily life that are interesting but not interesting enough to be sent in a text or be posted on Facebook.
Text is dry. Snapchat lets me quickly message someone what I'm feeling.
It has almost nothing to do with disappearing messages.
A text is more like someone handing a a slip of paper with a typed message.
An email is like someone handing you an 8.5x11 piece of paper.
Snapchat lets you be really gestural, for instance I draw on >95% of my snaps. In instances where I want to add text I draw it on with my finger.
The last snap I sent was to my girlfriend, it was an image of our dog with a ripped up shoe, I scrawled "How mad are you?" on it.
Cost
Other places may have a fee for SMS but the monthly payment is still much lower than in the US
And yes, I'd rather have my phone, and pay less per month then get a phone "for free" but shell out $100 per month
Disclaimer: T-Mobile customer for 13 years.
Some comparison values:
With 20€ per month on Ireland (pre-payed) one can get 250Mb AND Free calls in the network + free texts AND the 20€ for calls to other networks http://www.meteor.ie/pay-as-you-go/anytime-all-in/?linkid=pa... (if you go contract, the 20€ get you 1Gb Internet + 200Mins + Unlimited texts)
1. They are the brand that reinvented the sharing model. They are more likely to stick to their core values 2. Facebook/Instagram can use the information about who you send to to expand their already vast profile of you. 3. Based on Snapchats word, your images are truly deleted from their servers after they've been viewed.
That said, I'll be testing out Instagram direct to see if it is truly a superior product but I imagine if they think of something good Snapchat will copy it and I will go back to my brand du jour.
I guess one must have a fair bit of userbase karma + mystique to successfully reinvent the wheel, to make a funnier-to-use wheel that actually gets used.
I don't really think we need social networks as they're now understood. About 10 years ago when MSN Messenger was popular, I had the idea of having an interactive contact list for one's cell phone. One where I could see that my friend is "in the shower, out in 10" or where I could send a picture to a contact, etc.
Also, I haven't seen a clear explanation on their implementation when you try to "direct" someone that has not updated their app (don't have the Direct feature) yet. Does it warn you, queue the Direct for when they finally do update, doesn't let you use the feature with them at all, or what?
AFTER UPDATING: It looks like you guys are right, it allows you to send Direct to people who have not updated, so I imagine it just queue's it for them. Also, you cannot set expiration timers, and if you do a group message everyone in the group can see who is in the group (both unlike SnapChat). So, it looks like this will not probably not harm SnapChat at all.
I think people use SnapChat because it's a silo disconnected from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
I'm sure that was the aim here, to create a product that took inspiration from snapchat. Given that it's one of the most popular apps out there with an insane amount of users, and we know that facebook already tried to buy it. I'm sure they didn't want to copy it outright, but if they can integrate some of it's features into their existing products, they may be able to steal some users.
Post-facebook acquire they've introduced "features" that add very little to the service, copy competitors, and degrade the overall experience of Instagram.
http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1...
Hipster: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hipster
Ism: highly active and well-understood suffix that means, among other things: "manner of action or behavior characteristic of a (specified) person or thing" http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/-ism
In my anecdotal experience apps beat out MMS because of carrier compatibility and poor service.
On another point unrelated to this thread Apple and Google really should work together to develop a single messaging and sharing API hosted from either of their clouds.