There are many popular apps in the social networking world, two of the most popular being Instagram and Vine. Since its launch in 2010, Instagram hasn’t failed to impress users.
Instagram was created by Stanford graduates Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in October 2010.
“It’s a way of taking fun, artsy pictures that your friends can look at,” said sophomore Angelina Castillo.
As of January 2013, it has over 100 million registered users and 90 million active monthly users. Over the last year, Instagram has become very popular. It has exploded in the social networking world. This ever-increasing popularity was one main reason Facebook bought Instagram for one billion dollars.
One reason Instagram is so popular is the many ways users can use it. It is convenient because users can use it anywhere, on a smartphone, iPad, or computer. As of 2012, the app has been made available for Android phones.
Instagram provides a fast and easy way for users to share pictures. Another pro is that it allows users to take good quality photos without the use or need for special photography equipment.
There are many photo editing apps that accompany Instagram. These apps allow users to edit their pictures using filters. These apps also change lighting and can enrich the colors that are naturally in the picture. Instagram gives people the opportunity to connect with their friends through pictures.
“It’s fun to look at all your friends’ pictures and see what everyone is up to!” said Castillo.
One drawback of Instagram is its instability; it crashes often, especially when users are trying to download pictures. Another problem many users face is that they spend too much time on the app. “It can become addicting,” added Castillo.
Vine is another popular social networking app. Vine is a mobile app created by Dom Hofmann and Rus Yusupov in June 2012, later bought by Twitter. It officially came out on January 24, 2013.
Vine is similar to Instagram except users share videos instead of pictures. The videos shared are similar to the Graphic Interchange Format (GIF) found on Tumblr. A GIF is a short video that loops. The difference between GIFS and the videos made on Vine is that on Vine, the videos are between three to six seconds long.
On Vine, users can either view short video clips made by their friends and family or videos made by random people that tend to be very entertaining.
Vine is the number one downloaded free app at the app store. It can be uploaded on iPhones and iPod Touch.
Twitter does not filter any of the content on Vine. As a result, many inappropriate videos have been uploaded to the app and have caused controversy. On Feb. 5, 2013, Twitter changed the user minimum age from 12 to 17. “I think it is right for them to make the new rule, so it doesn’t make parents mad about what their kids see on vine but I still don’t think it will stop underage kids from getting them.” said Castillo.
Vine allows users to get creative, all the videos clips are homemade. Vine is a great source of entertainment because a lot of the videos tend to be random and funny.
Although Vine is slowly catching up in popularity to Instagram, many users believe that it won’t become as popular as Instagram anytime soon.
“I think it’ll be pretty popular, but not as popular as Instagram,” said sophomore Emma Lin.
“With time I think it can become as popular as Instagram but I don’t count on it,” said sophomore Kira Roman.
Within a couple of months of its release, According to theverge.com, Vine has became the most used video-sharing app on the scene. Although its popularity is growing, it is not perfect.
“All Vines have to be made with the actual app, you can’t use the video thing on your phone,” added Lin.
“I prefer Instagram over vine. Vine has not become too popular because most people don’t know exactly what it is, and don’t know how to use it,” said Roman. “Also, not too many people have it.”
It will be interesting to see how these two popular apps continue to compete for the attention of the users.