Instagram add live streaming to Stories and disappearing photos for Direct messages
Nov 22, 2016
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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When Instagram stories landed in August, it was an instant hit. Every day, I load up Instagram to see stories being constantly updated with new stuff. Now, Instagram are expanding the capability of Stories by offering live streaming. Live streaming is a feature that’s proven to be wildly popular for Facebook, and is sure to be a big attraction to Instagram users.
When somebody you follow starts a “live story”, you’ll see “Live” written under their profile photo in the stories bar. During the broadcast you can comment and like as much as you want. You can also check out new live stories through Explore.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/192221148
I have to admit, the whole Stories thing hasn’t really appealed to me all that much since it was released. Being able to live stream through Instagram, however, might just see me giving them a whirl on shoots for a little behind the scenes action.
Also added are new disappearing photos and videos for Direct messages. These allow you to send out content that will automatically delete itself upon being viewed. There’s no self-destruct warning, but if you always wanted to be Ethan Hunt, now’s your chance.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/192220333
You can only send disappearing photos or videos to people who follow you or have already approved messages from you in the past. This won’t affect regular messages, will remain as visible as ever.
To send a disappearing message, you simply swipe right to take a photo or video using Instagram as you would for your story. Then, when you’ve shot what you want, hit the arrow at the bottom to choose who you wish to send it to.
Disappearing messages is available now, and Live Stories will rolled out globally over the next few weeks.
What do you think? Is this going to enhance your Stories? Will it entice you to now give Stories a try? How about self-deleting messages? Is this something you’ve wished you had for a long time? Will you even use it? Let us know, and give us your thoughts in the comments.
[via Instagram]
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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2 responses to “Instagram add live streaming to Stories and disappearing photos for Direct messages”
#NotCopyingSnapchat
First they copied Snapchat and now they are copying Periscope…
This makes me a bit mad because of intellectual property theft, but then again I really like the idea of Snapchat while disliking the execution (heavy on the phone, battery draining and forcing the user into camera mode when you activate the app). Periscope is another app I like the idea of, but can’t justify having on my phone as a standalone app. For me it’s a nice additional feature for an app doing something else, but not an attractive core feature.
So, in the end, I always liked Instagram over Snapchat or Periscope, so I know I will enjoy the new featured on the app I already have installed, but what the Instagram guys are doing still feels a little shady to me.