Don't Mourn the #InstaPurge
Instagram shed millions of users in one second
If you’re a frequent Instagram user, you likely saw a giant notice in your notifications panel starting two or three weeks ago that informed you that your user count would possibly be changing. Like most adults, you probably clicked through to find out why, so you already know that CEO Kevin Systrom explained why they would be deleting spam accounts, thus potentially lowering follower counts.Instagram has now followed through on their promise, and the #instapurge has upset the masses (and by masses, we mean throngs of Bieber fans). Behold:
Your follower counts are now correct. If you saw a change today, check out our news from last week to learn more: http://t.co/b9V6qUgdFF— Instagram (@instagram) December 18, 2014
The entitled generation is leaving many comments about their lost fake followers. I really love @instagram for this. pic.twitter.com/sGmz6vo3yc— Wesley Verhoeve (@wesleyverhoeve) December 18, 2014
Some are secretly angry at the purge
It’s not just teens that are offended by losing their fake followers, no, they’re just the ones that are taking to the airwaves to publicize their heartbreak. The truth is that there are many who are quietly lamenting in embarrassment, having spent money buying followers are part of their social media marketing strategy. They can’t exactly gripe on Twitter when they acted like their large following was earned. That’s just bad business.People like Justin Bieber lost 3.5 million followers overnight, but Instagram stood to lose the most, shedding nearly 19 million followers of their own instantly. You can see an interactive and entertaining chart that shows who the biggest losers were.
Don't feel badly for Instagram...
Alas, no one should feel badly for Instagram for teens abusing them in public or their own loss of millions of followers - Citi just valued the company at $35 billion after being bought for only $1 billion (a number mocked by the masses as over the top) just two years ago. They'll sleep just fine tonight, even if all of those cussing teens bail.