The History of Instagram

Do you know the history of Instagram?

To all Instagrammers and non-Instagrammers alike, Instagram’s history as the second-largest social networking site in the world should be fascinating.

This article covers everything from the origins of Instagram to the history of a specific Instagram account.

History of Instagram: When Did Instagram First Appear on the Internet?

On October 6, 2010, after months of development and testing, Instagram was officially launched. On the first day, there were 25,000 users.

However, there was no overnight success as you might expect, and I will tell you the whole story.

Humans first communicated with one another via cave paintings before mastering the art of writing.

What made the cave dweller feel the need to decorate the interior with murals?

• To exchange information with one another.

• To live in perpetuity and to be cherished

• To use art to brighten up the cave and render it a more pleasant place to live.

• To pass on knowledge to future visitors

• To convey thoughts, feelings, and a wide range of other concepts.

Networking sites, in some form, have been around since the dawn of humanity and are very likely to last through the end of the human race as a whole.

Instagram’s Timeline Of Events

• Instagram was launched on the 6th of October, 2010

• One million people are using Instagram as of December 12th, 2010

• InstaMeet #1 on March 21st, 2011

• Picture number 150 million was uploaded on August 3rd, 2011

• Updated on September 20th, 2011, with four new filters in version 2.0

• On the 26th of September, there were ten million active users

• The weekend hashtag campaign #VHP was launched on November 21st, 2011

• Instagram for Android goes live on April 3rd, 2012

• Facebook bought Instagram on April 9th, 2012, for $1 billion.

• The 28th of June, 2012, sees the launch of Instagram’s web photo pages.

• Instagram has 80 million subscribers as of July 26th, 2012!

• Instagram added a new filter on December 11th, 2012.

• Version 3.4.1, released on December 21st, 2012, now supports 25 languages.

• On May 2nd, 2013, Instagram users began adding hashtags to their photos.

• Instagram launched the video aspect on June 20th, 2013

• Instagram direct was unveiled on December 12th, 2013.

• Instagram raised 300 million subscribers on December 1st, 2014.

• Boomerang was launched on October 22nd, 2015

• December 15th, 2016, marks the milestone of reaching 600 million Instagram users.

• Several photos per post as of February 22nd, 2017

Who Was the First to Invent Instagram?

It is how Instagram got its start. Kevin Systrom started it as a side project while he was mastering coding.

Instagram was born as a result of his meeting with Mike Krieger. For the time being, however, let’s learn a little more about them.

Kevin Systrom was born on the 30th of December, 1983, in San Francisco, California. They came from two different worlds, his mother was a marketing executive at ZipCar, and his dad was the vice-chairman of TJX company.

He was a Stanford University science and engineering management major and an Odeo intern (the Twitter company).

He landed a job at Google as an associate marketing product manager after graduation.

In 2009, he left his job of three years as a product manager for a start-up company, the next stop. As a result, he grew more involved in online communities.

In São Paulo, Brazil, on the 4th of March 1986, Mike Krieger was born. During his time at Stanford, he focused on symbolic systems (where he met Kevin).

He was involved in a class project at university that involved a photo-sharing website. “Send me some sunshine” was the name of the app for diagnosing the seasonal affective ailment.

As a way to lift someone’s spirits who lived in a colder climate with fewer hours of daylight, users could send each other photos of sunny days.

He began self-training in early 2010 after hours. Kevin didn’t have any formal computer or coding training, but he was passionate about it.

As a result, while working at the following location, he decided to learn to code in his spare time, including nights and weekends.

After learning how to code, he created an HTML5 prototype called Burbn (after his passion for fine whiskeys and bourbon).

Burbn was a multi-faceted app that allowed users to sign in, post their plans, and share photos, much like Facebook.

People were uploading and uploading pictures through the app. Photos of coffee, dogs, and the bathroom mirror are all popular choices—photographs of the ordinary events of one’s life. 

Burbn users interested in photo sharing were considered, and every preferred app in the picture sharing section was examined as a result. As a result, Burbn was canceled, and a new project began.

They experimented and hunted for a while before they found anything. There was an Instagram prototype known as scotch, but it lacked filters and was riddled with errors.

On October 6, 2010, after months of development and testing, Instagram was officially launched. On the first day, there were 25,000 users.

It just kept growing from there. Instagram reached a million users in just three months after launching.

How Old Is Instagram’s First Photo?

Kevin Systrom’s puppy dog was the first-ever Instagram photo to be uploaded. This picture was taken in Todos Santos, according to Systrom, at Chilako tacos.

The Resources/Funding

Investors became intrigued by Instagram’s meteoric rise in user numbers. Instagram began meeting with potential investors in January 2011 and, one month later, raised about $7 million from a variety of sources, including benchmark capital.

Several significant businesses on social networks, including Twitter and Facebook, began to take notice of the new venture.

Twitter-Derived Passions

Dorsey was intrigued by Odeo because he knew Systrom from his time as an intern there. It is how it happened: In March 2011, he allegedly paid around $500 million of his company’s stock.

Systrom opted out, preferring that Instagram continue to stay a stand-alone business.

Instagram had 27 million users by March of 2012, and it was made available for Android smartphones in April of the same year.

Over one million people downloaded it in a single day. Instagram as a company was valued at $500 million in the latest round of funding.

Facebook’s Graph of Interest

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg offered to buy Instagram in April 2012 for $1 billion in cash and stock, stipulating that he would run the company independently after the deal closed.

Instagram accepted. Shortly after that, Facebook bought the business for $1 billion in stock and cash reserves.

What Led To The Popularity of Instagram?

The success of Instagram, I believe, is due to several factors:

• If you use Instagram, you can take regular pictures and turn them into something extraordinary.

• People don’t have time to read long texts; instead, they prefer to watch videos and look at photos, which is why Instagram exists

• Using it couldn’t be more straightforward or freer

• Rather than trying to be all things to all people, Instagram concentrated on one thing.

• It’s jam-packed with exciting new features and is constantly being improved in response to user feedback.

• It doesn’t have a lot of annoying advertisements; nothing appears

• As an influencer, you have the potential to build a successful business on the site.

This Timeline Shows the Evolution of Instagram’s Business Features

October of 2006

It was the starting point in the history of Instagram. A new era in content creation begins with Instagram’s launch, and the service quickly attracts 100,000 users.

Instagram’s user base continues to expand, and in June 2011, it surpassed 5 million monthly active users after incorporating hashtags.

April of 2012

Facebook has purchased Instagram. It is a massive development for Instagram development.

July of 2013

Other websites can link to videos on Instagram if they have permission to do so. Brands benefit from increased engagement thanks to these embedded links.

November of 2013

Within just 18 hours of Instagram’s introduction of sponsored post advertising, Michael Kors had gained 34,000 new followers. User targeting and demographics are used to place these sponsored posts in users’ feeds. 

August of 2014

Instagram has launched a business profile as a result of the popularity of sponsored posts. They incorporated a dashboard interface for analyzing impressions, reach, and frequency related to ad campaigns and personal ads with the tools provided by Facebook for this new feature.

June of 2015

We now have call-to-action buttons (CTAs) Conversion types like app installations and newsletter sign-ups. Instagram added it in anticipation of future purchases. 

May of 2016

As a result of these changes, Instagram now offers demographic information on its users, as well as the ability to turn popular posts into ads.

August of 2016

Instagram Stories, which had nothing to do with Snapchat, had just been introduced. For 24 hours, you can post photos and videos to Stories. For business engagement, this is critical, as it allows companies to take customers behind the scenes in a more personal way. 

November of 2016

It’s safe to say that Instagram had an eventful year. The use of live video has begun. You can now interact in real-time with your audience.

March of 2017

March was a jam-packed month, so be prepared. Full-screen story ads and new analytics for multi-image posts and stories are now available on Instagram. A new shopping feature within the app makes it easier for users to discover and purchase products. 

December of 2017

Story highlights, a new way to share curated video clips on social media profiles, have gone live. Use it to show off your company and new products to your followers without annoying them.

May of 2018

New messages have been added to the direct inbox of business accounts. Quick responses are also part of the package to help alleviate some of the pressure.

June of 2018

Instagram’s video-sharing app, IGTV, was created. To compete with YouTube, Instagram has added the ability to publish videos lasting 60 minutes.

August of 2018

Adding links to Instagram Stories has now become possible. Since users can click directly to a product page using this feature, it’s become a must-have.

September of 2018

Business accounts for some of the most prominent Stories. To make shopping on an e-commerce site or an Instagram shopping page easier for customers, brands can now include product stickers in Stories.

January of 2019

Instagram has been teasing the existence of Creator Accounts recently. Yes, you read that correctly. High-profile accounts such as those of celebrities and influencers will soon be able to keep tabs on their analytics and growth. 

March of 2019

Rather than visiting a third-party website to make a purchase, Instagram is introducing an in-app payment feature. Because of this feature, Instagram has grown to be a top player in the e-commerce industry.

May of 2019

Creator Accounts are Instagram’s answer to the growing number of influencers who use the platform to promote their brands, artwork, and product endorsements.

They’re similar to the Instagram Business Accounts, which were introduced in 2014. Metrics on account growth, follower insights, and streamlined messaging are all available with creator accounts.

January of 2020

Instagram’s business profiles now have access to a separate inbox. Businesses can now sort direct messages into low and high-priority inboxes to make communication more efficient.

March of 2020

IGTV, Instagram’s long-form video platform, now allows creators to monetize their videos with ad revenue.

April of 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted Instagram to introduce the new story and profile features to assist small businesses. In the Instagram app, companies can now add stickers to their stories that let users buy gift cards, place food orders, or donate money.

May of 2020

Viewers of Instagram Live increased by 70% during the first month of the pandemic, so Instagram introduced a new feature that allows creators to tag and display products within their Live videos.

June of 2020

Instagram’s shopping tab has been moved from the Explore page to the bottom of the screen, between the post button and your profile toolbar. Instagram Shopping

August of 2020

Instagram releases Reels in more than 50 countries in response to TikTok’s success.

October of 2020

Facebook has launched the Facebook Business Suite app, formerly known as the Pages Manager App, to let small businesses manage their Facebook and Instagram content, messages, and analytical tools from a single location.

November of 2020

Product tags are now available for use in advertising. Instagram ads now allow users to see product descriptions, prices and even make purchases via the tags.

December of 2020

With the addition of product tagging to Reels, you can now purchase featured products in Reels and post directly on Instagram.

February of 2021

Instagram has launched a Professional Dashboard for businesses and creators, which provides analytics, viewpoints, and resources right from the Instagram app.

Final Thoughts

A large percentage of individuals, as stated by the app, use Instagram for product and service research.

It’s a reality that your business is missing out on over 200 million Instagram users who go to business profiles each day and the 130 million subscribers who engage on a retail post each month if you’re not on Instagram.

After reading about the history of Instagram you are sure to appreciate its tremendous growth and influence online.