First Snapchat, now TikTok: Instagram has mastered the art of borrowing features

(Wally Skalij/Getty Images) The latest user data suggests its pivot to video with Reels over five years ago has paid off. Facebook was not really close to being the first name in the social media game, with SixDegrees, MySpace, Friendster, and a long list of now defunct sites exploring the idea of creating platforms to connect people online before Mark Zuckerberg’s company. However, it was Facebook, despite arriving somewhat late to the party, that won out in the end, iterating on the idea and focusing on college campuses like the one where its 19-year-old creator found himself at the time. The Meta CEO hasn’t really been shy to borrow, or simply buy, good ideas ever since. When Instagram was blowing up, Zuck and co. saw a potential threat to Facebook, eventually buying the app that had just 13 employees for $1 billion. When Snapchat’s “stories” concept proved wildly popular, it wasn’t long before Instagram had the same feature… with the same name. More recently, after Elon Musk relaunched Twitter as X, Meta was quick to push out Threads, its text-based alternative. Back when a new challenge emerged from the then Chinese-owned TikTok, Instagram replied with Reels, its own vertical feed
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