Instagram up a creek
Last night I checked Instagram before bed and my eyes were assaulted by the new look. I quickly took to Twitter to see if it was a glitch in the Matrix or if this indeed was a conscious decision to make Instagram as ugly as possible. Seems the latter was true with the latest Instagram update.
The new “immersive” experience is a TikTok copycat and for me the app is now impossible to use as I cannot stand reading white text on black backgrounds. I’ve said for years that social media channels love copying successful ideas from other channels and adding them to their own, but this new update removes Instagram as far as possible from what it once was: a user-friendly photo-based platform.
With this change, I thought it’d be a good time to share some things that certain Meta-owned social media channels seem to be forgetting and should take note of – and I’m using the characters from Schitt’s Creek to do so.
Be like David
Be original! People don’t mind downloading multiple social media apps to fulfill different needs. I loved Instagram because it was what it was, a place to share photos. Not links, not long-form text, not stupid, staged videos. It was simple and it worked, like David’s mostly black and white wardrobe.
David is comfortable in his own skin, maybe not his own bed with a crinkly mattress protector, but he knows who he is and he knows who he isn’t. Which, dear Instagram, you are not TikTok. Stop acting like it.
Learn from Alexis
First, Alexis sums up my reaction when I saw the hideous new UI.
But, what I mean by saying we should learn from Alexis is that her character starts out pretty oblivious to the needs of those around her but eventually matures into a strong, sensible woman without losing the traits that make her so lovable. You hear that, Instagram? You can make your product more sophisticated without stripping the core reason people used the channel in the first place.
You need to actually listen to the response of your users. You ignored us when we asked for the chronological feed, you ignored us when you started forcing in suggested posts, and now you’re not listening as people who want short-form videos can find them on TikTok and come to Instagram for a different reason. Stop being oblivious to what your users used you for in the first place.
Follow Johnny’s footsteps
When Johnny started taking over the motel, he didn’t bulldoze the thing and start all over. He introduced small changes over time. And those small changes made things better — he wasn’t changing things just to change them.
Though I will say that point does seem to apply to a wider net, rather than just social media. Fitbit is notorious for rolling out updates that don’t improve the use of the platform, but force users to change how they use the app because that’s how Fitbit thinks they should use it. Let your customers guide you and tell you what they want and make changes that truly make things better instead of making changes just so you can say you made them.
Be confident like Moira
Moira, like David, is one of a kind and does not care if others don’t quite get her. She is who she is and she’s confident about it. Moira also sticks to what she knows and gives it everything she has. Returning to the silver screen, she knew her movie might not be the biggest hit ever but she still gave 100% with her acting. Even her commercial for Herb Ertlinger’s wine, though it went off the rails a bit, she still committed to the role.
Instagram could take a page out of Moira’s book and commit to doing one thing well – being a visual platform that works the way people want it to.
Don’t make your users cynical like Stevie
Stevie starts out as this pessimistic, sarcastic, and somewhat jaded character who is fine not going above and beyond. She is quite cynical, especially when she meets the Roses, as it seems they only care about themselves. She doesn’t find them sincere and in a way she enjoys making fun of them, knowing they’re not in on the joke.
Instagram is about to have a bunch of Stevies on its hands as its users realize Instagram does not care about them. It is making these changes in its own self-interest and disregarding its users’ opinions on the matter. Instagram will become the butt of many jokes and some users that put up with changes they didn’t want in the past might be motivated enough to permanently leave the app behind because they can’t trust it anymore.
We all know social media needs advertising revenue, but forcing one ad for every two organic posts is overkill and forcing “suggested posts” into feeds isn’t a sincere act of the network thinking its users might like that stuff.
Be true to yourself like Patrick
Patrick’s point is similar to David and Moira’s in that Instagram just needs to be true to itself. Instead of slapping on a new UI that doesn’t fit how users use the platform, like Patrick up there getting a spray tan he didn’t need, it doesn’t feel right or authentic. By trying to be like other social media platforms and not embracing what made it great in the first place, Instagram will have trouble proving its value and finding users that are happy to be on the app.
On the one hand, maybe I should be thanking Instagram for making their app unbearable to use and now I won’t sit there mindlessly scrolling through it.
But for now, when I open the disaster that’s called Instagram, this is my reaction:
