10 years of Instagram: from holiday selfies to Kylie Jenner wannabes to business platform, the social network’s evolution

Ten years after its launch as a photo-sharing app, Instagram offers ‘experiences’ and e-commerce, and has become the favoured platform of luxury brands

Companies use the app to reach customers directly or through influencers, and it has become the place travellers and foodies look to for inspiration

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Instagram has evolved beyond photo-sharing. The social network is now used for everything from shopping to booking a restaurant. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:45pm, 5 Oct 2020Updated: 7:46pm, 6 Oct 2020

#Foodporn, #nofilter and #TBT: little known to the general public a decade ago, Instagram has woven its way into the daily lives of a billion people, changing the way we eat, travel and consume.

On October 6, 2010, two Americans – Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger – launched Instagram as a social network dedicated to photo sharing. The novelty? The app offered filters to adjust brightness, contrast and colour to create the perfect photo in an instant.

It had immediate success.

The app was bought by Facebook two years after its launch. By that time, it had become the world’s most popular platform for uploading endless streams of selfies and had its own stars, Instagirls, such as fashion blogger Chiara Ferragni with 21 million followers and Kylie Jenner of the Kardashian clan with 197 million followers.

On October 6, 2010, Instagram was launched as a social network dedicated to photo sharing. Photo: AFP

Exhibitions, dinners, people on public transport or on holiday, every corner had become a backdrop for capturing a self- portrait for public consumption.