Instagram said on Wednesday that now the social site is having more than one billion active users, as this is launched a new long-form video feature in order to attract “creators” like those on YouTube.
Now the Instagram has becomes the fourth Facebook platform which hit the billion-user mark, that is consists of the namesake social network with more than two billion users, and the messaging application’s app like WhatsApp and Messenger.
The Instagram, is going to have some of the 800 million users from this September, which has been turning to be the outpacing rival social networks such as Twitter and Snapchat and now it looks like, that the social networking site, Instagram, will be going to have young users than Facebook in the coming days.
Kevin Systrom, the Instagram chief executive, declared the milestone as he unveiled and launched the new video application regarded as the IGTV.
“We have now a community of one billion users,” Systrom told the event in San Francisco. “Since our launch in 2010, we’ve watched with amazement as the community has flourished and grown.”
As Facebook itself has moved deeper into the video, Instagram will become a direct competitor now to the YouTube with IGTV.
IGTV will enable any user to upload long-form videos that will also consist of the “channels” from video “creators,” similar to a format employed by Google-owned YouTube which has given rise to a number of YouTube “stars.”
“Anyone can be a creator — you can upload your own IGTV videos in the app or on the web to start your own channel,” Systrom said.
Built for smartphones
Systrom said IGTV is built which can be used as a smartphone and boosts the time for videos from the previous limit of one minute.
“The way we are watching video is changing,” Systrom told the event. He added that IGTV is “built for how you actually use your phone, so videos are full screen and vertical.”
The launch arrives prior to the shift in video viewing habits away from traditional television to online platforms which will be consists of the Netflix and Hulu, and with more people and users can watch both professional and user content on services like YouTube in their Instagram account.
As per the research firm eMarketer, 181.7 million Americans will watch video content on their smartphones at least once a month from this year of 2017, up 6.1 percent from a year ago.
Ashley Yuki, the Product manager told the event that IGTV “is an open platform from its starting day, so everyone can become a creator.”
Rolling out for the iOS and Android apps, IGTV will allow any user to upload videos up to 10 minutes long, with the limit for larger accounts at one hour. Systrom described the new app as “a separate space, a dedicated space to enjoy the video without being distracted.”
In April 2012, Facebook acquired Instagram for a combination of cash and stock worth some $1 billion at the same time.
Since then it has been converted into a strong engineer of growth for Facebook in terms of users and ad revenues.
Whilst Facebook offers no detailed revenue breakdown, eMarketer estimates Instagram will be going to generate $5.48 billion in net US ad revenue this year on 2017, up 70.4 percent from the last year 2018 and accounting for more than one-fourth of Facebook’s net mobile ad revenue.
The Facebook itself is also ramping up its video offerings and contributions with original shows and this week declared the new formats including interactive game shows, quizzes, and polls.
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