Following the news that Instagram has introduced ‘Direct’ a new messaging service, Eden Zoller, principal analyst at Ovum has the following comment:
Instagram’s new messaging service
“The new messaging feature for Instagram is a clear move by Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) to keep users engaged with its photo sharing service, which is seeing increased competition on all fronts. Instagram is being threatened by more direct rivals such as Vine and Snapchat, but is also seeing indirect competition from popular messaging services like WhatsApp, where users are spending more time at the expense of Instagram and also Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) itself. This is the last thing that Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) wants as it’s working hard to drive advertising on Instagram in a bid to monetize the service. A drop off in engagement on Instagram will damage this objective. This is where new features like Direct are meant to help Instagram. The injection of real-time communications into Instagram is a natural complement to the core photo sharing service, while the private groups feature will appeal to people that are either disenchanted with or wary of more open social broadcast platforms.”
