Metaâs Instagram rose to prominence as a photo-centric social media platform, launching on iPhone in 2010. This focus on images attracted influential personalities like Kim Kardashian, who would quickly leverage the platform to propel her star. But it just wasnât the Kardashian clan that leveraged Instagram for personal promotion; other brands, celebrities, and a cadre of newly sprouted influencers would mutually benefit from the platform, fueling personal growth while giving lift and relevancy to the photo-sharing app.
In the past, Instagram has fought back competition for attention from social media newcomers like Snapchat and Periscope. Still, none have rustled the âGramâs jimmies quite like weâre-totally-not-sharing-all-your-data-with-the-Chinese-government platform TikTok. ByteDanceâs popular app has Instagram questioning its market position and making seemingly unpopular design decisions to stave off the Gen Z favorite.
Following a reverse course on suggested content and emphasis on its TikTok clone feature Reels, Instagram is still moving forward with plans to test a âtall,â 9:16 format for picture posts that would mimic videos on both TikTok and Instagram. The new interface would include gradients and overlays over the 9:16 formatted images. Apart from the awkward formatting, the gradient overlays, intended to make text easier to read, also darken parts of the photos.
