[ad_1]
Eight years after the launch of Instagram and six years after selling it to Facebook, the CEO of Instagram, Kevin Systrom and technical director Mike Krieger leave the company, according to the New York Times. The founders apparently did not motivate their departure when they informed the company today that they were resigning and that they would leave in the next few weeks.
But according to TechCrunch sources, the tension has increased this year between Instagram and Facebook. leadership regarding Instagram's autonomy. Facebook had agreed to let it operate independently as part of the acquisition. But in May, the highly regarded Vice President of Product Instagram, Kevin Weil, joined Facebook's new blockchain team and was replaced by former vice president of Facebook News Feed Adam Mosseri – member of Zuckerberg's inner circle .
"Adam is a very willing individual," said a source, and "Chris [Cox, Facebook’s Chief Product Officer] and Kevin never got along really well. In between, they could put pressure on Instagram to do more for Facebook – which was important considering the impact of the scandals and the decrease in the use of teenagers on the Facebook brand. "When Chris started taking initiatives and Adam was part of the Facebook alumni crowd, it was clear that it would not be nice. I saw that this guy [Systrom] will be in a hurry. "
The CEO of Systrom and Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, has always agreed, but his opinions sometimes diverge. A source said that a few times a year they ran into each other before solving the problems. These clashes included "Sharing Again on Facebook." Kevin wanted to keep sharing on Instagram, but at one point Mark wanted Instagram content to be posted on Facebook. But things have warmed up recently. "Recently, Mark decided to pull all the links to Instagram from Facebook."
The evidence of this impasse is visible on Facebook, which confirmed last year that he was adding a shortcut to Instagram in his favorites menu. This shortcut has since disappeared.
After growing the application to 1 billion users, conquered the architect Snapchat, turning it into a massive advertising activity, the founders of Instagram feel they have accomplished their duty and are ready to face different challenges. And rather than fighting against Facebook's impositions, they prefer to build something new.
In a statement, the founders of Instagram wrote: "We plan to take some time to explore our curiosity and creativity again. Building new things requires us to step back, to understand what inspires us and what the world needs; that is what we intend to do.
This departure follows an acquisition on Facebook by the founders of WhatsApp who leave in much darker conditions. Brian Acton cited Facebook's privacy concerns as a reason for leaving, tweeting "Delete Facebook" in one of his recent scandals. Over the next few days, we will examine whether similar concerns have contributed to the founders' exit from Instagram. Instagram spokespeople have not responded to several requests for comment.
Kevin Systrom, CEO, still approves all ads on Instagram
The two former Stanford classmates initially built a Burbn social localization app but discovered that its photo filters were by far the most popular part of the app. By combining tools to make the grainy photos of the first smartphone compatible with a social feed for sharing, Instagram has perhaps become the most successful mobile application in the world. Considered as such a threat, Facebook has spent $ 715 million to acquire the startup and its less than 50 million monthly users.
Overwhelmed by Facebook's engineering team, Krieger could finally rest after years of fighting server fires to try and manage Instagram's explosive growth. Sales, internationalization, anti-spam and other Facebook resources have enabled Instagram to boost its growth and create an advertising business.
The moment of truth for Instagram came late 2016 with the launch of Stories, a clone of Snapchat's ephemeral sharing feature. At the time, Systrom had admitted "that they deserve all the credit". But by blurring Stories to the top of the already flourishing Instagram feed, sorting them out to show your best friends first, unlike Snapchat, and focusing on performance in developing countries, Snap has neglected the news. ;original. Instagram Stories now has 400 million users per day against 188 million for the entire Snapchat application.
During these six years, Instagram has also experienced a lot of problems. Cyberbully has become endemic, which has led the company to eventually invest in artificial intelligence and human moderators to keep the application clean. Russian military broadcast on Instagram information and propaganda that affected 20 million Americans, involving the company in a scandal of electoral interference that will continue during the next mid-term elections.
Facebook had largely allowed Instagram to operate independently. Systrom and Zuckerberg worked closely together, yet Instagram was not forced to drown its users in cross-promoting other Facebook products or making disturbing privacy decisions. As Mosseri moved in and Facebook wanted Instagram to gain weight, its autonomy was threatened, leading to disagreements between the leaders of both factions.
The strongest legacy of Systrom and Krieger may be the way Instagram has changed the world culture. Non-artists felt creative and let people give their friends a window on their world, generating empathy and friendship.
At the same time, a desperate thirst for "Likes" has led many people to manicure their image online while hiding their sentences and vulnerabilities. Instagram has become the favorite spot for the hit theater, where people arouse the urge to harm health by showing their most glamorous moments. And when Instagram launched Stories to try to share more than the highlights of its life, users eventually normalize the behavior of interrupting each special moment with their camera.
Systrom has taken a stand on the digital welfare issue by stating, "We are creating tools that will help the IG community learn more about time spent on Instagram – any time has to be positive and intentional. . . It's important to understand how time spent online affects people and it's up to all businesses to be honest about it. We want to be part of the solution. I take this responsibility seriously.
The next project of Systrom and Krieger may seek to compensate for some of the distortions in society caused by their creation.
Source link
