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Rather than having trouble losing your independence within Facebook, Instagram Co-founder Kevin Systrom told me that this was an inevitable sign of the triumph of his application. Today, in South By South West, Systrom and co-founder Mike Krieger have met for their first live talk since Facebook's departure in September. They discussed their original stories of superheroes, their authenticity on social media, the upcoming regulation of advanced technology, and how they explore what they will do next.
Krieger grew up looking for "seeing the source" on websites, while Systrom hacked into AOL startup programs that would make people use instant messaging, explaining both how the code could affect people real. While Instagram was becoming more and more popular, Krieger was describing the "incredibly bad" feeling of fighting server fires and trying to keep the popular application online, even if it meant programming at the same time. middle of a sushi restaurant or a camping retreat. He even once relaunched Instagram while he was drunk in the middle of the night and woke up with no memory of this feat, confused as to who would have solved the problem. The old Instagram CTO has implored the founders not to fall into the "death spiral of recruiting," where you're too busy to recruit, which makes you more busy, making you too busy to recruit …
But, fortunately, the founders were also willing to delve deeper into some more difficult topics than their unbridled start-up day.
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger (left) go to Palo Alto to edit their A series, around January 2011
Independence vs Importance.
"In some ways, having less autonomy is one of the reasons Instagram wins. If Instagram had been this niche photo application for photographers, we would probably work there for 20 years. Instead, what has happened is that things get better and better, and that it improves and that the size of the business is really important, "said Systrom. "If we want to achieve that goal, that's the reason we're coming to this agreement, the autonomy will eventually become less important because it's so important. So, in a way, it's inevitable if you succeed. So you can choose, do you want to be unsuccessful and small and have all the autonomy of the world, or not? "
AUSTIN, TX – MARCH 11: Mike Krieger speaks on stage at interactive conference: Instagram founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger with Josh Constine at the 2019 SXSW Conference and Festivals at the Austin Convention Center on March 11, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Saucedo / Getty Images for SXSW)
Krieger added, "I think if you study. . . All current companies, those that succeed internally, have finally become so important to the acquiring company that it is almost irresponsible not to think about the best integration models. The advice I usually give is: "Are you ok if you succeed?" And if you are not, you should not do the business. "If the loss of autonomy can not be avoided, they suggest selling to a rocket that will invest in your baby and take care of him rather than changing priorities.
When asked if he saw his surreal equity, Systrom said that money did not make you happy. "I do not really get up in the morning to check my bank account." I noticed that it was the practical privilege of having a great one. .
The pair threw cold water on the idea that being forced to earn more money drove them out of the business. "I remember having this series of conversations with Mark and other people on Facebook, and they said to themselves," You just joined the group, do not worry about monetization, we'll understand this later. And in fact, it's a lot more than telling us "1. It is important for us to contribute to the entire Fb Inc. . and 2. Every person who joins before you have ads is a person you are going to have to present to ads. "Systrom added that" to be clear, we are the ones pushing monetization, not the other way around, because we believe Instagram has to make money somehow. It costs a lot to run. . . We have been working hard to make sure that we are a successful unit within Facebook and I think we have come to this point, which is really good. "
But between 2015 and 2016, the remaining independence of Instagram has allowed to reinvent its application with non-square photos, the transition to the algorithm and the launch of Stories. On the need to question the fundamental assumptions of a company, "You may have a few years of relevance when you create a product. If you do not reinvent it every quarter or year, you lose relevance and leave. "
This last launch was inspired by the desire to propose a prismatic identity where people could share unforgettable moments that would not haunt them. But also, Systrom admits that "Honestly, this is one of the main reasons that for a long time, people's profiles were filled with Snapchat links and it was clear that people were trying to connect the two products. So, bringing both products [Feed and Stories] In the same place, we gave consumers what they wanted. But when I asked everyone who was fond of the whistling algorithm, SXSW turned it into a pit for snakes.
Big Tech regulation
After the demise of Systrom and Krieger, Facebook is continuing its intention to more closely integrate Instagram with Facebook and WhatsApp. This includes the unification of their messaging system, which some say is designed to make Facebook applications more difficult to break with antitrust regulations. What does Systrom think of integration? "The more people available, the more useful the platform becomes. And I buy this thesis. . . Whether they want to talk to people from different platforms or not, I can not predict the future, so I do not know, "Systrom said.
AUSTIN, TX – MARCH 11: Josh Constine, Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom speak on stage at Interactive Keynote: Instagram founders Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger with Josh Constine at the 2019 SXSW Conference and Festivals at the Austin Convention Center on March 11, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Saucedo / Getty Images for SXSW)
Krieger recommended Facebook to try to prove that users want this inter-application messaging before embarking on a giant engineering challenge of merging their systems. When I asked if Systrom had already expressed a strong desire to publish an Instagram message on Direct Direct to a WhatsApp user, he admitted "Personally, no." But, in a manifestation of respect and solid training in the field media, he told his former employer to go there. "
It was time to ask the hardest question: their thoughts on the presidential candidate, Senator Elizabeth Warren. proposal to regulate the major technologies and to cancel the acquisition of Instagram by Facebook. "Are we getting our work back?" Systrom joked, trying to dispel the tension. Krieger called for greater attention to downstream externalities and the specificity of the problem solved by a break-up. He wants to differentiate regulation from Facebook's acquisitions, Amazon's white tagging and product sales, as well as Apple's right to run the only iOS App Store.
Acquisition vs competition
"We live in a time when I think that anger against big tech has been multiplied by ten – because real estate prices have risen in your neighborhood, because you do not like it. Russia's interference in elections – there is a long time. The list of reasons why people are angry at the technology at the moment and some of them, I think, are well founded, "confirmed Systrom. "This does not mean that the solution is to dismantle all businesses. The dissolution of companies is a very specific requirement for a very specific problem. If you want to solve economic problems, there are ways to do it. If you want to settle the interference of Russia, there are ways to do it. Breaking a business does not solve these problems. This is not to say that companies should not be dismantled if they become too big, monopolistic and problematic, but being big in itself is not a crime. "
Interactive Keynote Presenter: Instagram founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger with Josh Constine at the 2019 SXSW Conference and Festivals at the Austin Convention Center on March 11, 2019 in Austin, Texas
Mr. Systrom then analyzed Warren's technical knowledge by stating, "What surprises me is that it's usually the policy that needs to be put in place, and that that does not seem to me to be nuanced enough, which makes me shows that the problem is poorly understood. not here. I think this will require a more nuanced proposal, but I'm afraid that something like a proposal to dismantle all technologies is only playing on the current anti-technology feeling of everyone, rather than doing what the politicians should do, that is, give real solutions. "
The two founders then gave a pretty wrong logic to explain why the acquisition of Instagram had helped consumers. "As a person who has run the business for how many years on Facebook? Six? There was even a lot of internal competition and I think there were better ideas out there. We have developed both companies, not one. It's a very difficult question. Which consumer has been damaged because its size has increased? I think it's a strong argument that the acquisition worked well for consumers. This does not take into account that if Instagram and Facebook were rivals, they should compete in terms of confidentiality and treatment of their users. Even if they look to each other to design more attractive products, this does not indicate where damage has been done to consumers.
Krieger suggested that this acquisition really stimulates competition by making Instagram a role model. "There was a gold rush of companies saying to themselves," I'm going to be X's Instagram. . the instagram of Audio, the instagram of the video, the instagram of the dog picture. "You have seen people start new businesses and try to develop them to try to achieve what we have been able to do." had already launched, actually grew to compete with Instagram. And seeing Instagram stand up to Facebook's empire would probably have inspired many more startups, some of which can not find any funding, as investors doubt their luck with the combination of Facebook and Instagram.
As for the next step for college buddies, "we give ourselves time to restore curiosity," said Krieger. They are still exploring, so there was no great revelation about their follow-up project. But Systrom says they've built Instagram by finding the mega trend of cameras on phones and asking them what they would like to use, "and the question is, what's next?"
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