Just the other day I was thinking how mediocre the Facebook mobile app is, at least on iPhone. I realised that this was the primary reason I don’t spend much time on Facebook. The way I access it, not the product itself. But there is also another reason.
Three days ago I started using Instagram, at first I just downloaded it and let it lie there then Monday morning I registered and took my first photo, in my room. I didn’t expect much of it. After applying the first filter I was awestruck! The light areas… shades … Amazing! My room felt like a middle age bedroom from Braveheart! So I started to take more photos and posting them. Flowers, construction sites, clouds, I couldn’t stop!
Two things make Instagram so desirable… More than Facebook anyway.
1. Instagram takes you to a place you Want to be. A magical place, an old place. This is does courtesy of the filters. It preys on your emotions and feelings.
Facebook is rigid and stale. There are no emotions there anymore. The only emotions on Facebook came from the photos you took with friends and family. But Instagram now makes those photos even more memorable and accessible.
2. The app is easy to use. Take a picture – Filter it – post it. Following and unfollowing is easy. Facebook on the other hand has a not-so/easy to use app. Loading errors, bugs, complexity and other issues just make it difficult to use.
I spend half my life on my iPhone. Much of it now on Twitter and Instagram. More and more of the latter. Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram for 1 billion dollars has surprised us all. We wait to see the outcome. All we know is that it was a smart move to stifle the competition before it turned mutant – like Twitter.
This post was written entirely on Iphone notes. I don’t even know how many words there are here 🙂 I shall post statistics later.
