If you’re an Instagram fan who loves sharing photos to your Twitter stream, be prepared to be disappointed. As of last week, Instagram photos no longer appear on Twitter—instead, if you click on an Instagram link in a tweet, you’ll see a white space and a link to the web version of the photo.
The news doesn’t come entirely as a surprise and was expected by many on the heels of Instagram’s decision last week to turn off support for Twitter Card functionality. “Basically, you would no longer see the full images; rather, you’d see a cropped version,” according to TechCrunch.
Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom addressed the change at Le Web and said it was done, in large part, to drive more traffic to Instagram’s recently revamped web presence.
“Systrom also mentioned at the event that eventually, photos would be completely gone from Twitter streams, so perhaps this is the reason why users aren’t seeing their photos in Twitter anymore,” writes Leena Rao.
That being said, Systrom also added that Instagram would always offer some level of integration with Twitter—but the minimal approach unveiled today is likely less than what Instagram users expected.
As big Instagram fans (both for ourselves and for our clients), we’re definitely annoyed by the change—the ability to easily share Instagram photos on Twitter was a convenient way to share photos with a larger audience and build an Instagram account’s visibility. Yet when you factor in Facebook’s purchase of Instagram and the photo-sharing app’s enhanced website, it makes sense that Instagram would minimize integration with other sites—especially on the heels of news that Twitter might be incorporating photo filters into the platform.
I love seeing my friends’ Instagram photos wherever I happen to be, so this made me a teensy bit sad. What’s your take? An easily foreseen change that’s not a big deal or a loss of integration that makes Instagram a little less valuable?
Image via MovieFanatic
Shelly Kramer is a Principal Analyst and Founding Partner at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked alongside some of the world’s largest brands to embrace disruption and spur innovation, understand and address the realities of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of digital transformation. She brings 20 years’ experience as a brand strategist to her work at Futurum, and has deep experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, GTM strategies, messaging develoment, and driving strategy and digital transformation for B2B brands across multiple verticals. Shelly’s coverage areas include Collaboration/CX/SaaS, platforms, ESG, and Cybersecurity, as well as topics and trends related to the Future of Work, the transformation of the workplace and how people and technology are driving that transformation. A transplanted New Yorker, she has learned to love life in the Midwest, and has firsthand experience that some of the most innovative minds and most successful companies in the world also happen to live in “flyover country.”