You must be familiar with social media if you’ve used the Internet recently. If so, there’s a good chance Instagram was cited as one of the top social networking platforms available. Social media are appealing for many reasons, but communication is the main one. Maintaining relationships with those close to you has a place on the platform, as we’ll go into more detail about below. It’s time to dive into the meat of the story if learning about two benefits that aren’t antagonistic whetted your appetite. What is Instagram and why should you care? is answered in the following.
Instagram’s development and historical background
So what exactly does Instagram mean? Instagram is a free social media platform that is primarily accessible on Android, iOS, and iPad-powered smart devices. Sharing images and videos to a personal profile or a business/personal page is its main purpose. It eventually became accessible through web browsers, a Windows Store app for Windows 10, and previously for Windows Phones.
How was Instagram founded?
Unbelievably, when it was first launched, Instagram simply had the most basic features and catered to a completely different market. Co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger only supported iOS devices when they released Instagram on October 6, 2010. Its sole capability was for photo editing. Applying filters to photographs, some of which still exist today, namely, without technical understanding It was so well-liked that it had more than 1 million users in just two months. The number of Instagram users increased to 10 million after a year.
What was the original aspect ratio for Instagram photos?
Instagram only permitted square images with a maximum dimension of 640 by 640 pixels between 2012 and 2015. After 2015, the 1:1 aspect ratio persisted, but the resolution was raised to 1080 x 1080 pixels. In order to accommodate the aspect ratios of screens on contemporary devices, including 21:9, 16:9, and even 4:3, the platform eventually adopted a rectangle aspect ratio.
When did Instagram change into what it is today?
Instagram was purchased by Facebook, the original social media platform, in April 2012 for $1 billion in stock and cash. In November 2012, a new version of an Android app was released with new features. Although this started things off, most people believe that 2016 marked the turning point. Facebook introduced private communications, video sharing (post, story, direct message), and going live on Instagram at that time. The most well-known modification was perhaps the reduction of five consecutive photos to three, which is still the case today. Additionally, it’s critical to be aware that the co-founders left Instagram in late September 2018. In June of last year, just a few months prior, Instagram attained 1 billion users.
Interface for Instagram
Instagram’s graphical user interface (GUI) in 2021 consists of 4 standout components, three of which are found on the Home page.
front page
Shortcut choices like Home, Direct Messages, Explore, Follow Requests/Notifications, and Profile can be found in the menu at the top. Stories are listed in a single row below that. A follower’s profile picture will be displayed in the Stories row and moved to the top of the list if they are live streaming on Instagram. Finally, with infinite scrolling turned on, posts from profiles and pages you follow are displayed one at a time.
Profile
There are four main categories on your personal page:
- Posts the pictures or movies you posted.
- IGTV. the lengthy videos you posted (between one and sixty minutes).
- Saved. Posts that only you can see that you’ve “bookmarked.”
- Tagged. posts in which your page or profile was tagged.
The essentials of Instagram
Here are a few essential elements that contribute to Instagram’s identity:
Verified, business, public, and private profiles
These groups of Instagram profiles are divided into:
- Public. Everyone who visits your profile can decide to follow you.
- Private.You can only be followed and have access to your profile by people you approve.
- Verified. They award Verified badges to profiles with significant online or public presences or those at risk of impersonation. They are identifiable by their blue badges that have a white checkmark.
- Business.Pages for businesses, artists, and entrepreneurs, etc.
Likes
Instagram previously “worked” on likes. It served as the foundation for profiles on the Explore tab, the algorithm used by Instagram to propose friends, and the ability to see the precise amount of likes received by a post and the users who liked it. Sadly, this prompted many comparisons with those who appeared to be having perfect lives. Millions of users experienced feelings of insecurity and inadequateness as a result, which is one of the drawbacks of social media. They stopped offering this feature as a result in September 2020.
Instant Messages
This is a direct result of Facebook’s purchase. To other Instagram accounts, you can send private messages, much as on Twitter. There is no encryption used, unlike WhatsApp or Viber.
Geographical tags and hashtags
Both accomplish the same goal. Depending on a hashtag or location tag that applies to your photo, they enable you to either find posts or have your posts found. This may result in an increase in followers from all over the world, particularly if the hashtag you used becomes popular.
Summary of the Story
Since December 2017, you can save your stories to Story Highlights even if they expire after 24 hours. Unless manually erased, they are always available to you and your followers on your Profile.
Associated accounts
Given that Facebook owns both platforms, an attempt has been made to combine them. For instance, you may sign up for Instagram and manage it using your Facebook account. Therefore, this is perfect for companies that need to keep up a social media presence. Additionally, you can send and receive direct messages simultaneously on Facebook and Instagram by using Instagram Direct Messenger.
Analytics
The platform offers thorough analytics on your posts, stories, and live broadcasts to assist you in customising your content and fostering ongoing growth. This comprises the total number of views, remarks, or direct responses, as well as the growth in followers, percentage of engagement, average audience age, etc.
Are there any Instagram age restrictions?
Instagram is available to users only if they are 13 or older. According to local legislation, you must be 16 or older to open an Instagram account, for instance, in Ireland. Additionally, the platform used to be quite tolerant of explicit and nudist content. Due of their large advertiser base, Instagram imposed stringent guidelines regarding the kinds of content that might be posted on the network in 2021. The differences are obvious, and they are evolving into a family-friendly platform similar to YouTube.
prominent Instagram accounts
The top five Instagram accounts with the most followers as of the date this article was published were:
- Instagram (@instagram) – 569million
- Cristiano Ronaldo (@cristiano) – 500 million
- Ariana Grande (@arianagrande) – 340 million
- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson” (@therock) – 348 million
- Kylie Jenner (@kyliejenner) – 372 million
