Years ago the thought of a popular social media site strictly for pictures would have been unthinkable, but today Instagram flips that upside down. Every second 58 photos are uploaded and a new user is gained, bringing the current count to more than 80 million photos.
First invented in San Francisco by Kevin Systrom and Michel Kieger, Instagram has more than one billion photos uploaded to it and that number is steadily growing. It is one of the most popular photo-sharing apps today. In April 2012, Facebook made an offer to purchase Instagram (with its 13 employees) for approximately one billion dollars and the deal went through.
The downside is that it can only be used on smart phones and iPods. It is disappointing for those customers who love photography, but cannot use this quick and easy app because they do not have the luxury of those devices.
Even with that disappointment though, the app redeems itself with its ability to take an ordinary photo, food seeming to be the favorite among its users, and add an extraordinary filter to it. The app now has 14 filters to it and each is different in their own way. The filters allow people to give their photos a personality.
One moment the user’s photo looks ordinary and the next it is focused around the main point while the rest is blurred. Once its users learn how to use this app correctly, they can make their photos look professional. It is because of this and its easy ability to be used that it has become a favorite among its users.
Once its users have their picture perfect they can upload them to the website and other Instagram users can view and discuss it. In fact, if the user wants to, they can upload their photo to Facebook or Twitter with just a click of a button.
With users and pictures growing for Instagram every second, it is hard to see the end to the sensation of Instagram. Less than three years after being released, this app has caught and kept a large audience and is still growing. Instagram gives people that initiative to take more pictures because they know that they can make them look better, and honestly, people from this generation like instant assurance.