DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Instagram co-founder hates how “soulless” the app has become

Mar 22, 2023 by Dunja Djudjic 5 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Instagram co-founder soulless

Ever since it was founded over a decade ago, Instagram has undergone plenty of changes. Most of us don’t like the direction the app is taking, and as it turns out: neither does its co-founder.

In a recent interview, Kevin Systrom opened up about his thoughts on Instagram as we have it today. He claims that it has lost its soul and turned way too much into a commercial app than one for connecting, which only confirms what most of us thinks of the former photo sharing app.

[Related reading: Mosseri admits Instagram went too far showing videos over photos]

Instagram started as Burbn, a mobile check-in app co-founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in 2010. They quickly realized it was too similar to Foursquare, so they switched focus to photo sharing and renamed the app Instagram. It didn’t take long for it to explode in popularity, and it took Facebook only two years to buy it out. On April 9, 2012, Facebook (now Meta) bought Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock.

In 2018, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger resigned from Instagram and Adam Mosseri became the new CEO. They moved on with their career since, but Systrom spoke openly about Instagram in a recent podcast with Kara Swisher. He said that the app has “lost the soul of what made Instagram Instagram.” He added that he regretted how commercial it got, reflecting on #AD under more and more posts from people he’d followed for years. “That, to me, is not the Instagram we started,” Systrom said in the podcast, lamenting about how the app has become completely the opposite of what it was supposed to be.

We can’t deny that Instagram is no longer a photo sharing app. Lately, it seems that it’s everything but that. I mean, even its own CEO admits it. It’s all about making money and ads are everywhere. Not to mention that most of the “new” features have been “borrowed” from other apps like TikTok, Twitter, Telegram, even the “anti-Instagram” app BeReal.

I can’t say I disagree with Systrom, Instagram truly has lost its soul in the process of making it a cash cow for Meta. But then again, he’s had nothing to do with it for the last five years, so it hasn’t been his call whether or not to turn it into an endless sea of ads. Also, it’s not that you can expect a big corporation like Meta not to try and make money out of an app that’s so successful and popular.

All in all, we can still take from Instagram what we need. I still find it useful for promoting my work and following fun, educational, and creative content. But if it’s more of a nuisance than a useful tool – I guess we should find other ways to promote our business and work, or to kill some free time.

[via PetaPixel]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Instagram’s latest algorithm tweak hates your TikTok reposts The OG App turns Instagram into the fun app it once was Instagram Hates Photos: Where to Share Your Work Now Instagram hates photographers

Filed Under: news Tagged With: Instagram, social media, social network

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.net

About Dunja Djudjic

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

« Watch: 14-Earths tall tornado hurls across the Sun’s surface
Panasonic has finally developed its 8K organic global shutter OPF CMOS sensor »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 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.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy