Overview
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can be shared from within the user's account or posted on a public profile such as one created for business purposes or an influencer. A feed of photos, videos, stories, retweets, comments, likes, shares, and more is automatically generated. Users can access their own private content (or any other user they choose) through the Explore tab in Stories. Instagram has over 2 billion monthly active users globally, according to data from Sensor Tower.
Instagram started out as a way to keep track of friends and family members. Shortly after launching Facebook Messenger-like features were introduced, leading it into becoming a social network rather than a messaging platform as initially intended.[1] As many of its competitors have done, Instagram added "reels" along with the ability to publish short videos. In 2012, Instagram announced that it would change how it displays some photos by showing only photos where they are placed vertically. This was not well received, since Instagram had already changed what the mobile version needed to do to adapt. It later announced plans to add images to thumbnails based off content from people's profiles to make it easier for accounts to follow up with each other.[2] Additionally, Instagram switched from displaying recommended posts to letting users create them, allowing both businesses and celebrities to increase their reach. The number of recommendations increased from 20 percent to 35 percent, which ultimately led to changes to display a better variety of different types of posts from accounts. While this led to some criticism, due to it having higher competition, Zuckerberg stated that he did not think his product could compete with TikTok or Twitter. According to Zuckerberg's testimony before Congress, his goal at Snapchat was to gain a place above YouTube and start rivaling Apple.[3][4]
Due to pressure for improved functionality and usability, the social network introduced new tools including the News Feed. By placing all videos front and center, users could quickly see the most recent tweets from others or favorite creators' Instagram Stories. Photos began appearing under the status and tags sections as an overlay in Discover. These changes made Instagram's overall interface more modern, adding things like sidebars and notifications for incoming messages.[5]
The following year, Instagram announced its first redesign of its desktop web interface in March 2018, introducing redesigned icons and links that allowed people to share links instead of just text.[6] In August 2019, Instagram rolled out iOS 15 to support iPhone's native Safari browser; a feature offered in addition to Android apps. Other updates from July 2020 included Live Wall, live streaming to/from IGTV, and improvements to Instagram Payments, providing contactless payment options.
History [ edit ]
In 2010, an anonymous poster known only as @mikaelo_mikaelo began uploading pictures of himself, showing him making small progress towards reaching the New York City Marathon via Insta: "I'm doing really good now, but I feel my mind is so dizzy right now that I wonder if I'll ever run at all." He wanted to promote running as being healthy, and hoped that his activity would motivate viewers to try it out. Soon enough, he got over 100,000 views and thousands of likes.[7] On Feb 22, 2011, @mikaelo_mikaelo went viral on instagram when nearly 300,000 people liked the post about his weight loss journey.[8] As it became clear during the day to night cycle, that he'd lost 20 pounds, however, his followers remained unimpressed; as opposed, fans of fellow runners posted congratulatory messages for him on his impressive performance,[9] while also encouraging those who didn't follow him on that same platform. Within 6 hours of posting the initial message by @mikaelo_mikaelo, he had over 1 million visits from people,[10] gaining traction in the process.[11] By March 2011, #mikaelo_mikaelo had amassed almost 17 million likes, with tens of thousands of messages sent across Instagram[12] as well.[13] His follower count rose rapidly; increasing by over 1000 every few days, sometimes even doubling daily.[14] Although it wasn't immediately apparent why so many people liked his post, it was confirmed that @mikaelo_mikaelo was a self-made millionaire, selling her home and flipping houses in between jobs.[15] His subsequent message received almost 10 million likes by February 2015.[16] Despite numerous comments criticizing Instagram's algorithm, @mikaelo_mikaelo's use was still significant and helped set an example for many accounts like him to join. Over time, the hashtag #mikaelo_mikaelo became synonymous with income goals. During the height of the financial crisis and recession in 2008, his use reached 30 million, a number that doubled before receding to less than 4million in June 2009.[17] His success may also have been in part thanks to multiple partnerships. For instance, in May 2010, he partnered with former professional basketball player, Shaquille O Neal, which resulted in an eight million dollar endorsement deal for the two of them, with O Neal acting as the brand ambassador for his fitness regimen. Later that April, shortly after landing his second multimillionaire sponsorship deal, he was chosen in partnership with NBA legend Michael Jordan to appear on top 25 list of most influential persons on earth.[18] While attempting to go vegan for a month,@mikaelo_mikaelo began promoting eating meat, stating that he would stop the diet if his followers wanted to know why.[19] However, despite an influx of responses congratulating him, no people seemed interested in his veganism. At an event where he was speaking, over 400 people came up to him, and he was able to answer questions in a timely fashion. People were drawn to hearing his story and want him to become part of their lives and build successful partnerships. He continued his promotion, claiming in another interview that his followers were eager to talk about him and ask for advice from him, and that he used this opportunity to meet and connect with people who were willing to help him, all because they found him worth connecting with.[20] After seeing his positive impact in society, people began to expect his results by purchasing products, starting companies, or working alongside him again. Even though his popularity started dipping down, he became accustomed to working with celebrity sponsorships that had similar benefits as his work with athletes such as Kobe Bryant. For instance, on Sep 16th 2013, @mikaelo_mikaelo attended a birthday party of NBA great Karl Malone, hosting a sit-down dinner, and then filming his speech to present it to him at midnight. Some have criticized the idea of using these events in advertisements for brands that don’t align with these agreements.[21] In January 2016, during halftime of the Boston Celtics game against Phoenix Suns, fans were enraged when he repeatedly referred to Paul Pierce in passing as “Kobe” as he sat courtside, further infuriating fans.[22] From 2017 to 2019, @mikaelo_mikaelo continued to gain massive amounts of fame. The latest controversies involving @mikaelo_mikaelo include several instances where his daughter’s mother complained about his constant posting of food portions in certain posts, calling it unhealthy for children, and that she wanted to sue him because she couldn’t understand why he was constantly complaining about his poor health. He responded to these complaints by saying that it’s important for parents to monitor what their kids eat on a regular basis if they were going to let them consume as much as he does or that he shouldn’t judge his daughter for eating unhealthy foods.[23] On December 31st, 2019—15 days after receiving death threats online—@mikaelo_mikaelo appeared in court to defend his actions in commenting on breast cancer awareness campaigns. He claimed that he was upset by the fact that there was an emphasis around the topic, saying that there were other ways to make people aware of breast cancer.[24] On Jan 29th, 2020, @mikaelo_mikaelo's phone was shot at point blank range, during an ambush in Austin Texas, killing five individuals and injuring nine. When police arrived at the scene, they found him in bed with an unloaded AR-15 semi-automatic rifle lying on top of him; he died from a gunshot wound to the chest and head; the bullet missed other victims.[25] Following the attack, police also released footage that showed a manifesto written by @mikaelo_mikaelo that expressed his admiration for Nazism and the Holocaust. The manifesto calls Islamic extremism Islamophobia and claims that white supremacists are responsible for anti-Semitic violence against Muslims and Jews.[26] After the shooting, @mikaelo_mikaelo had previously admitted to having sympathy for white supremacists; however, he denied any association with gun control advocates and said that his statements were taken out of context.[27] In response to the incident, President Trump stated that he would not travel from Washington D.C., where the shooting occurred, to Texas to pay tribute to the slain civilians, nor would he order federal troops to investigate crimes on behalf of communities at odds with extremist groups. Meanwhile, @mikaelo_mikaelo gained notoriety. Many took inspiration from his struggles and continued to
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