Did Insta just save Snapchat?

So Instagram is a self-confessed copycat, embedding Snapchat impermanence into Insta’s curated universe with the new Instagram Story feature. You now have permission to express yourself without the pressure of likes or public comments on posts that disappear in 24 hours. And yeah, brands are going to love this. The most interesting part? What Snapchat does next.

Snapchat’s founder Evan Spiegel understood teenage sharing. It’s about instant expression, not accumulating stuff on your profile. Seeing he was onto something, Facebook offered $3 billion for Snapchat in 2013, but he said no. So what’s the opportunity now they’ve nicked his best ideas? 

Perhaps it’s to stay a teenager, to never grow up into that glossy girl with the perfect life. There’s still space for a private world where it’s okay to eat unphotogenic food and do unphotogenic things. The kind of place where you hang out with your mates in trakkidaks blagging about nothing – or turn yourself into a cartoon dog. Maybe Insta did Snapchat a favour, saving it from being invaded by adults and brands, and challenging it to come up with the next thing (and monetise it) in a world of copycats.