

Why Instagram is So Popular - jjets718
http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/27/why-instagram-is-so-popular/

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jacobolus
> _Even if you compare Instagram photos to professional Adobe Lightroom plug-
> ins, Photoshop Actions, and all the tricks and desktop software that
> photographers use, Instagram photos have a decent quality. The Instagram
> images are certainly not comparable, in terms of quality or resolution, duh,
> but the images are at least interesting._

These two sentences are exactly contradictory. 1) “If you compare... Instagram
photos have decent quality.” 2) “Instagram images are certainly not comparable
in terms of quality”.

In any event, the second version is right. Instagram photos are cute gimmicks,
and applying predetermined filters to snapshots can be fun, but the results
are not remotely comparable in terms of “quality” to work by competent photo
printers (whether in a darkroom or in Photoshop).

~~~
callmeed
As someone who sees dozens of portfolios every day, I think you vastly
overestimate the "quality" of most people who call themselves professional
photographers–especially those who shoot weddings and portraits.

Also, the latest version of Instagram saves high-res versions of manipulated
images to your camera roll. With the iPhone 4s having an 8mp camera,
resolution is not the issue.

Yes, Instagram's filters are exaggerated and images are cropped square, but
they aren't _that far off_ from a lot of things I see people doing for money.

People buy a DSLR at Costco for $600 and a website for $250 (hopefully from
me), and they are now a "professional" and shooting weddings on Craigslist for
$800 or portraits for their Facebook friends. Without technical skills, high-
contrast, over-saturation, blown-out, tinted looks become "in".

Similar to the bible verse, _"Photoshop filters cover a multitude of sins"_

~~~
billpatrianakos
So true. Just like everyone who buys "Websites for Dummies" and becomes a
professional web designer. I see that a lot too.

By the way, how do you only charge $250 for a website? Is this like a hobby or
do you have a bunch of templates you sell or do you just do small sites super
fast and work in bulk? I'm in the website biz myself and my minimum is $1200.
Just curious how others run their pricing models.

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billpatrianakos
I like what they said about the amount of media thrown at us sucking our souls
and numbing our senses. It's so true! I think that's why there's such a big
push toward minimalism on the web today. People can no longer handle having so
much information thrown at them at once with things flashing everywhere,
gratuitous onMouseover events, and especially the huge amount of choice we
have to deal with.

I think it boils down to choice. Instagram takes much choice out of the
equation. Just like they said, there isn't a huge grid of photos to choose
from and that's a good thing.

On kind of a side note, I'm so baffled by the funding of sites like this.
Please don't take this as a criticism, I'm just genuinely curious about why
instagram or any small online startup needs funding? First off, aren't a lot
of these companies something that people can just run on a shoestring budget
from their home? From what I see, a lot of startups require a competent coder,
servers to handle the load, and a budget just large enough to handle that.
Also, how are these companies making money? How is instagram worth 7 million?
I don't see ads or any membership model so how wil they pay back that money?
From where I sit (living off web design while building my own web app on the
side in Chicago with no employees or funding or even an office) it seems these
companies could run without the millions and actually be n a better position
once they get big as they won't be beholden to VCs and have heavy debt. I know
it's off topic but damn does it bug me. I honestly don't understand.

Edit: the only thing I can think of that requires a lot of money would be the
momentum (marketing) and hype that money can buy. Otherwise couldn't it just
start as a weekend project for $20 a month with a VPS and elegant code?

~~~
leak
To me, Instagram and a gazillion other companies on the web exist solely to be
acquired. I mean, what can Instagram really charge for? It has basically
become a chat app but with pictures to start the conversation instead of
"hey!".

~~~
billpatrianakos
Thank you! I thought I was the only one. I feel like saying this sort of thing
on HN is blasphemy and stuff people don't want to hear even if it is only out
of sincererity and curiosity.

Acquisition makes sense but there are far too many startups out there tht seem
to have this model. That's going to hurt a lot of people in the long run.
Those who aren't acquired will have gotten rich but the VCs will get burned
and then there will be far less investors willing to spend some money when a
startup that actually has a valuable product with a profitable model comes
around. It's like a big race to get in on the startup trend before the bubble
bursts.

