Well here we are folks, another earth-shaking Instagram update. First the introduction of advertising last September 2015, then at beginning of 2016 the new “optimized” algorithm, which, like Facebook keeps pushing us towards the most popular accounts (what if I’m not into “the most popular” but the most unique? too bad, right? It’s like looking for the Titanic), now June 1st 2016, no more apps working with Instagram. With the excuse of a few malware cases, Instagram has tightened up the strings around its precious users: no more Repost, no more Gramfeed, no more Crowdfire, just to name a few of the reputable apps that no longer work.
After the bad news, the same blog post by Instagram points at the great improvements in the Partner Program with more than 50 new business and media providers. But I wonder, with all these great developments when are some tools to help us poor users to manage our accounts ever going to be released? With growing numbers of users, and scams, the only option is to pay out to get some social media management tools, which usually are for enterprise-level users, with the exception of Iconosquare, which still has an affordable individual plan. For the rest, the best user-friendly upgrades we had so far from Instagram have included new filters, and new photo formats. No tools to manage followers and hashtags, not a shred of analytics… thinking of that why doesn’t Google come out with an Instagram competitor, instead of keep trying to break Facebook?
So dear fellow IGers, this latest update makes me feel that all we are now for Instagram are captive eyeballs for its growing advertising business.
