2010 founded Standing
social · instagram.com
the moat is real
15 years 318 days and counting
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, 2010. Filters were the hook. The graph is the business.
Why it lasted
- It owns a format (the square, then the story, then the reel) and a kind of identity.
- Facebook bought it early and let it stay Instagram long enough to become infrastructure.
- For a lot of businesses it is the storefront, the ads, and the DMs.
Times it almost ended
- TikTok should have killed it. Reels is the scar. The app is still installed.
- The 2012 purchase was supposed to ruin it. It became the most important property in the holding company.
What would finish it
- TikTok (or whatever is next) taking the remaining young attention, plus checkout moving off the app. Wobble, not tombstone.
Questions
Is Instagram still up?
Yes, with a Standing verdict: the moat is real. Founded 2010.
How long has Instagram been around?
Instagram has been up since 2010-10-06.
Why did Instagram survive?
It owns a format (the square, then the story, then the reel) and a kind of identity.
Could Instagram still die?
TikTok (or whatever is next) taking the remaining young attention, plus checkout moving off the app. Wobble, not tombstone.