Instagram

1. How often do you use social media? Which platform / app do you use the most?
2. Do you know anyone who is addicted to social media?

3. What are some advantages / disadvantages to using social media for communication?
4. Do you think that social media can be dangerous? Give an example.
5. Have you ever met someone in person that you met first online?
6. Do you think that social media is good / bad for a person’s self esteem?
7. Do you think that social media can be helpful for businesses? How?
8. What app do you think will be less popular soon? Why?
9. Do you think that you can make “real” friends on social media?
10. Do you have your family members on social media? Are there some people that you do not
add? How come?
11. Do you think that you could go 2 weeks without social media?
12. Do you think social media can be educational? Give an example.
13. How old do you think that children should be before they are allowed to use social media?
Why?
14. Do you prefer to post your own content or watch / comment on other people’s content?
15. Is it easy or hard to get followers? What do you think is the fastest way to get new followers?
16. Do you follow any celebrities on social media? Do you take their advice when you are
buying products?
17. What type of accounts do you like to follow?
The History of Instagram

Instagram was founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in October 2010. Systrom and Krieger
initially wanted to create an application for mobile photography called Burbn, but upon developing their
idea further, found that it was too similar to the existing search-result app called Foursquare. They
tweaked their original idea until they came up with a photo-sharing app. The name “Instagram” is a
combination of “instant camera” and “telegram.”
From the outset, Instagram proved extremely popular. Only two months after its launch, it achieved a
million users and reached ten million users in its first year. The simple idea of sharing photos in a social
media setting appealed to a wide variety of phone users. As time went on, Systrom and Krieger began
making a series of technology-related improvements to the app—making it compatible with Android and
Windows phones, for example—as well as improving the user experience. In January 2011, it added
hashtags, offering users the ability to find posts and people related to common interests. As Instagram
grew into one of the most popular apps in the world, tech titans took notice. In 2012, Facebook purchased
Instagram for one billion dollars.
In November 2012, Instagram launched web versions of user profiles, giving desktop users the ability to
access Instagram profiles. However, the website profile launch retained limited functionality and lacked a
search bar; the feature was redesigned in 2015. Instagram also began allowing the upload of non-square
photos to the app in August 2015, a notable shift from the look and feel of the app since its inception.
Rather than cropping down larger photos to a neat square, users could upload any photo of any dimension
to share with friends and followers.
In March 2016, Instagram changed the nature of its news feed, the place where users scroll through
newly-posted photos from those they follow, from chronological to algorithmic. “Algorithmic” means
that Instagram uses computer algorithms and artificial intelligence to make “decisions” on what its data
predicts you’ll like best. While this decision was met with backlash at first, it was made in order to
prevent users from missing important posts from friends and family that might have gone unnoticed with
a standard chronological timeline approach. Later in 2016, the app underwent major aesthetic changes;
the app itself revamped to a black-and-white theme, while the app icon changed to a whimsical
rainbowcolored design. Today, Instagram boasts 800 million users. Every day, 55 million photos are
uploaded and 1.2 billion likes are recorded.
1. Why did Instagram turn out differently than its founders expected?
A. Because they wanted to build an app for mobile photography
B. Because at first it was too similar to another popular app
C. Because they wanted their app to work similarly to Four Square
D. Because they liked the name Instagram more than the name Burbn
2. Which of the following is OMITTED in the first paragraph?

A. How was the name “Instagram” created?
B. What tweaks did Systrom and Krieger make to their original idea to create Instagram?
C. What is the purpose of Instagram?
D. What happened in October of 2010?
3. Which of the following best describes the PACE of Instagram’s growth?

A. It was as popular in 2010 as it is now
B. After several years, it became very popular
C. It became very popular eventually
D. It became very popular very quickly
4. Why are hashtags (#) useful on Instagram?

A. They help you upload and post images
B. They help you improve posts and images
C. They help you find interesting posts and images
D. They help you organize your posts
5. What word could replace “backlash” in the following sentence? While this decision was met with
backlash at first, it was made in order to prevent users from missing important posts from friends
and family that might have gone unnoticed with a standard chronological timeline approach.
A. excitement
B. resistance
C. fear
D. understanding
6. What is implied in the fourth paragraph?

A. Everyone’s news feed will have different posts and pictures, depending on who they follow
B. Instagram will soon switch to an algorithmic news feed so people can see what is actually important to
them
C. Instagram recently switched to a chronological news feed so people can see what is actually important
to them
D. In 2016, Instagram changed its app icon to the familiar rainbow-colored design
7. In the last paragraph, why is “decisions” in quotation marks?

A. Because the program doesn’t actually make real decisions like a human
B. Because the author wanted to emphasize the word “decisions”
C. Because the word “decisions” is an important word
D. Because artificial intelligence is now being used by many websites and apps to make predictions on
what content users want to see
Top 5 interesting facts about Instagram

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VURDXfU_oiw
Which one impressed you most?

Instagram

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Instagram

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Instagram

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1. How often do you use social media? Which platform / app do you use the most?

2. Do you know anyone who is addicted to social media?

The History of Instagram

2. Which of the following is OMITTED in the first paragraph?

3. Which of the following best describes the PACE of Instagram’s growth?

4. Why are hashtags (#) useful on Instagram?

6. What is implied in the fourth paragraph?

7. In the last paragraph, why is “decisions” in quotation marks?

Top 5 interesting facts about Instagram

You might also like