Brands Are Kind of Like Teenagers, So Instagram Copied Snapchat

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By: Contently

Today, we woke up to a surprise announcement. Instagram launched Instagram Stories, a new feature that allows people to post collections of photos and videos that last 24 hours. If that sounds exactly like Snapchat Stories, well, that’s because it is.

Instagram isn’t pretending it’s being original. In an interview with The New York Times, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom acknowledged that “other companies deserve all the credit” for the disappearing content craze. So why do it?

A number of theories are floating around. Some think that it’s only logical to copy your competitors’ best features. Just look at how everyone’s copied Facebook’s News Feed. The Times chose to frame it in terms of Facebook (which owns Instagram) chasing Snapchat as its great white whale, because 19th century British novels are always the best way to understand social networks popular among the youths.

But really, Instagram copying Snapchat is about one thing: insecurity.

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