Instagram Founders Address Snapchat Rivalry and Facebook Breakup Talks
At SXSW 2019, Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger discuss the impact of Snapchat on their app's Stories feature and share thoughts on whether regulators should break up Facebook.
Instagram founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger speak at SXSW 2019 about the massive growth of their photo-sharing app and the current state of social media. Since resigning from Facebook last September, the duo addresses the ongoing debate about whether governments should break up Facebook, while also reflecting on their journey since selling Instagram for $1 billion in 2012.
The conversation inevitably turns to Instagram Stories, a feature that now boasts over 500 million daily users. While the founders avoid directly admitting that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg orders them to copy Snapchat, Systrom acknowledges that the rival app plays a significant role in inspiring Stories. He notes that users previously fill their profiles with Snapchat links, so Instagram simply brings these ephemeral posts into one convenient place to give consumers what they want.
Regarding the loss of independence after the Facebook acquisition, Systrom does not view the decreased autonomy as a negative outcome. He explains that having less independence is simply a function of Instagram winning and becoming much more than a niche app for photographers. The founders highlight that the integration allows the platform to thrive on a massive scale rather than remaining a small, specialized project.