Jonathan Stark

I have been surprised by the popularity of Instagram, considering that
Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, and others already have strong mobile
camera integration. I asked the twitter-verse why they liked Instagram
and got some interesting input:

- Facebook et al are more about sharing baby pictures, whereas
Instagram is more about artistic expression. This makes the app
attractive to hipsters, amateur photogs, and designers.

- Design is simple, clean, and playful. Filters are kitschy and retro.
Again, this appeals to hipsters, amateur photogs, and designers.

- One person mentioned that he liked the fact that Instagram was
*only* a mobile app. There is no desktop/web version, which might seem
like a liability but it does reduce the cognitive load and perceived
complexity of the app. i.e. There’s only one place to go for your
Instagram.

My big takeaways from this are:

- Define target market as narrowly as possible. One persona is ideal.

- Ruthlessly trim features until you have the concentrated essence of
the app. It’s like reducing a sauce: you end up with less liquid, but
more intensity.

- Gorgeous design (icons, graphics, typography, etc) helps. One of my
colleagues illustrates this point with a hygiene analogy: “If you show
up to a job interview with dirty fingernails, it might not be a deal
breaker but it sure isn’t going to help.”

If you have any additional thoughts about the popularity of Instagram, please leave a comment below.