Facebook Is Going To Silently Ruin Instagram With Ads

It's okay to be square

On August 27th, just a little over a month ago, Instagram ripped the carpet out from under us. Ok, maybe that’s a little dramatic, but the sudden allowance of portrait photos, foregoing their iconic rule of square photos only, shook our digital world from tip to toe.

Now that we’ve all had time to adjust, and some people are really loving it, we're wondering why we ever tried to fit in to such a rigid rule set when posting photos of our feet on the beach, doing yoga side crow on a mountain top, or drinking fancy cocktails with little umbrellas.

From square to portrait, one of many minor changes to the platform

But there have been other little changes too. Instagram (owned by Facebook) is, as of September 9th, a wide-open playing ground for advertisers, and they get extra benefits. Users get 15 seconds of video time, but marketers can have videos that are up to 30 seconds. Users can’t post clickable links on their photos, but advertisers can.

I’m feeling a little déjà-vu here. For those of us who are old enough, we remember the days when Facebook was just your photo and a simple way to network. It was beautiful and simple.Facebook waited until we were totally hooked, until we couldn’t live without their beloved platform, before aggressively monetizing it. The present social cesspool of advertising has an awkward user interface and way too many features all at once. Now we love to hate it, yet we can't live without it.

All these little changes to Instagram: are they just the beginning? We are all positively obsessed with this platform, and it seems ripe for the advertising market.

I personally am sad to see that Instagram might be going the way of Facebook. Companies need to make money, but Instagram was so pure for so long. It was a haven of ad-free, totally user-generated content that was super pretty to look at. Now I keep scrolling rapidly past ads that ruin that streamlined experience. Here’s hoping Facebook doesn’t totally Facebook-ifysuch a great social media experience, again.

Do you think Instagram is being ruined? Or do you think these changes are for the better? Tell us in the Comments below!