Instagram Close to 2 Billion Users As Meta’s Crown Jewel Barely Trails Former Namesake Facebook

More often than not, we’re talking about how TikTok is giving Instagram a run for its money.

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Instagram app download landing page. Photo by Souvik Banerjee

That somewhat downplays the fact that Instagram itself is booming, especially when compared to some of Meta’s more traditional platforms like Facebook.

Now approaching some 2 billion users, Instagram is more than a force to be reckoned with and certainly not one you want to underestimate.

Even so, a lot of the platform leaves much to be desired for photographers and other creators. From the relative difficulty found in standing out in such a large crowd to the even more complex monetization schemes out there, it’s not as easy now as it was in the early day gold rush that users might have experienced at Instagram’s outset.

We also highlight Instagram’s impressive numbers to tell another story that has made the rounds of late and that largely has to do with Meta’s absolutely terrible financial reports and the bleeding over in the VR/AR division.

Far from being the company’s only concern, TikTok is actually quite down on the list when you look at the challenge Zuckerberg and company have on their hands when it comes to selling the dream for the metaverse. And apparently, the company is doubling down on those efforts with warnings that nothing is coming anytime soon in the way of profits.

Whether or not Wall Street will have the patience for those days to come remains to be seen but, for our little slice of the world, it’s important to know that Instagram is relevant, even if more than a little flawed. Here’s to hoping they find out some more ways to make it appealing to creators because, otherwise, the marketplace might be too crowded for those of us with more than social media optimization on our minds.

Are you one of Instagram’s 2 billion users? Let us know what you think of Meta’s service in the comments.

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[Meta]