GoCatGo!

As a Chase Jarvis fan, I was using his Best Camera app when Instagram was released. Initially, I thought Instagram was a bit derivative, actually; there were quite a few photo apps for the iPhone, and I didn’t see anything particularly special about this new entry.

Almost immediately, Instagram became the hot iPhone photo app, and I wondered why. Best Camera was established, had similar functionality, and boasted an active web community (something Instagram still lacks, although some third-party services are filling this gap).

I downloaded Instagram. I connected to Twitter and Facebook. I took some photos, applied filters, got bored, and moved on. I found the filter presets to be “almost” what I wanted in every case. So close, but not quite right. What I didn’t see was that this very lack of complexity was a big positive for Instagram. I was being too particular. I wanted more control, but most users want the particulars hidden away. Why fiddle with four different settings when tapping a single preset will do it all for you?

Looking at the two photo apps now, it’s a little clearer to me why Instagram caught fire while Best Camera is largely forgotten. For starters, Instagram’s workflow is much more straightforward. Sure, Best Camera is more flexible, but users seemed happier letting the app make some decisions for them if it meant getting their photos in front of their friends a little (maybe a lot) faster. There really is something to be said for simplicity.

Then there’s Twitter. And Facebook. Folks love to be creative … almost as much as they like showing people exactly how creative. Instagram feels seamless when posting to social networks. Enter account info for each network, and you’re posting your stunning creations all over the internet.

Now, here’s a killer difference: Best Camera is $2.99, Instagram is free. The adoption rate for these two apps could be very much the same if not for the lure and safety of “free.” There is very little risk in trying a free app. One could argue that an app costing $2.99 is pretty damn close to free … but $2.99 isn’t twice as much as “free” … it isn’t ten times as much … or a million times as much. That $2.99 for Best Camera is an infinite multiple of Instagram’s “free.” And that seems to have made all the difference in the world.

So, I’m revisiting Instagram. I think they understand the social aspects of the smart phone photo app market better than anyone, and that makes it worth a second look.

Instagram