After Facebook tried to buy out Snapchat for $3 Billion in 2013 but CEO Spiegel denied, Facebook has desperately tried to add Snapchats most popular features to its own visual Social Media Platform: Instagram.
With self-deleting Instagram Stories, we have basically experienced a totally copied version of Snapchat Stories(which was successful, nevertheless!)
But now, Facebook is taking it one step further, and is this time not adding a Snapchat feature to Instagram, but to Facebook itself: Custom, location-based Filters!
The Filters are called "Frames", and every user (Facebook page owner or not) will be able to create custom ones and then add them to their profile picture.
This is Facebook's attempt to make the platform more visual, while also offering its users to personalize it more.
Starting today, users in the UK, Ireland, Mexico, Colombia and Taiwan will be able to test the new feature - Facebook has not officially stated when it will be available to the whole world yet.
To design a frame yourself, you should first put the actual design elements together. This could be in any software like Photoshop, but make sure that each element is exported individually with a PNG, and with a transparent background.
Then, you can use Facebook's new web tool to upload your elements there, enhance the frame with even more features and then you can submit the frame to be approve. (No illegal or offensive content is allowed, obviously.)
Once the filter is approved, not only you but other people can use it as well:
If you have a personal facebook profile this will only be available to your friends whenever they're close to the specific location. But if you're a facebook page owner, you can make the filter open to the public and therefore use it to represent your business!
And Facebook is even planning to acquire Snapchat's biggest and most popular feature: Animated filters that attach to your face.
Those iconic Snapchat filters that are way over-used and loved by everybody will soon be available on facebook as well - in a very similar form.
Again, this feature is currently only available in Ireland and has been in the testing process there since October.
Facebook has not announced when the built-in camera and filters will go global yet - but we can be certain that they will become available for Facebook users worldwide once the testing phase was completed successfully.
Personal Opinion
In an Interview regarding the Instagram Stories feature, Instagram CEO Systrom said:
"When you are an innovator, that’s awesome. Just like Instagram deserves all the credit for bringing filters to the forefront. This isn’t about who invented something. This is about a format, and how you take it to a network and put your own spin on it"
So he openly admitted that Instagram was using some of Snapchat's features, and that it wasn't about who invented it first, but rather to make use of a popular format on your own platform.
But honestly, I do believe it's about who invented what first - afterall, Snapchat wouldn't have become such a huge success if the makers never came up with revolutionizing ideas like selfie-filters.
Another problematic aspect is that Facebook owns not only Facebook, but Instagram, Whatsapp and other smaller platforms as well - so they dominate almost all giants in the Social Media Market.
It's not like 10 different competitor Apps all had an agreement with Snapchat and everyone was now implementing features of it - that would be a different story. But it's only one big coorporation, Facebook, taking features from an opponent and making it their own.
Snapchat has shown no intention to sue them yet, so there must be a reason for that - but still, only because one concept is successful, I don't think Facebook should try to copy it and implement elements of it everywhere.
Every Social Media Platform should stay unique, like Steemit!
If everybody starts to copy from other platforms, we'll soon face the whole globalization dilemma again where everything is available everywhere and that makes it quite boring.
Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Cover: © Sirwinchester
- Instagram -
© Sirwinchester