If you live under a rock (or maybe a Geodude… wait, that’s a different article), you may have seen that Instagram added a neat little feature called Instagram Stories. I’ll spare you the explanation, but in essence, it’s a blatant knock-off of Snapchat. From the sharing interface, to the viewing experience, it is no doubt a carbon copy. I grew to absolutely love the experience which led me to eventually ditch Snapchat. You can see a great summary and comparison of the two apps in the form of a video by Casey Neistat.

My first impressions With Instagram stories

First off, I don’t post to either service often. However, with Instagram Stories, I’ve been compelled to post more often. (Follow me: @iMatthew1551)

I got the update and actually didn’t even know about it since I have automatic app updates enabled, so I wasn’t able to read the change log. When I finally opened Instagram for the first time since the update, I was greeted by a strip along the top of the app with some bubbles featuring profile pictures of people that I follow*.tninstastories

I thought, “This is really convenient.” I open Instagram often, perhaps 6-10 times a day, and to have people’s stories sitting there, easily in reach, is nice. To be honest, it’s nice to have everything bundled right there, together.

Creating and sharing

To add a new photo or video to your story, you tap the little (+) button in the top right of the app. You can then tap the shutter button once to take a photo, or press down and hold and it will take a short video. From there you can add some simple filters by swiping left or right. You can tap the pen to draw on your post, and you can tap the “Aa” to add text. You can resize the text and turn it upside this way or that.

Insta1                       Insta2                     CNInsta

Viewing a story

To view a story, it’s pretty simple: you first tap on the profile picture, where you can then view the image or video. Just as Snapchat does, you tap to advance to the next part of the story (if it exists). You’re able to chat with the person, by simply swiping up from the bottom of the screen. It uses the Instagram Direct Messaging system, except it disappears after it’s read. Just. Like. Snapchat. 

So why do i love it so much?

The reason is simple. Convenience. Having it all in one place, easily accessible, is nice. It makes me want to post and view people’s stories. Instead of having Snapchat for stories, Instagram for photos, Twitter for sharing thoughts, I can now have Instagram for Stories and photos. I appreciate it that I can have it all in one place. It’s simple. It’s easy. 

I’ll quickly address the fact that there are already a considerable amount of people using Snapchat, and have been for a long time. I’m okay with that. Snapchat is okay. Sure, Instagram copied Snapchat. I still really like the idea of having a story function in Instagram and have always sort of liked the idea of them having something like that. All in all, I love Instagram Stories, even though the same concept exists in Snapchat. I’ve found myself using Instagram Stories much more than Snapchat, even though Snapchat came first, just because it’s so much more convenient to open Instagram and have the normal feed, but also be able to view the stories.

Please feel free to argue that Snapchat is far more superior than Instagram in the comments below.

*Private accounts have been hidden for the confidentiality of their users.

Kevin Nether