Instagram has announced plans to change its users’ feeds so that posts will no longer appear in a chronological order. A Facebook-style algorithm will pick and choose what posts will be shown.

Will the changes result in less of this? Source: Mettelindgaard/Instagram

Since the very beginning Instagram’s feed has shown posts chronologically, appealing to many for its simplicity – so this announcement has stirred the social network’s community.

Of course Instagram is saying the algorithm will ‘improve your experience’ as the feed ‘will soon be ordered to show the moments we believe you will care about the most’. Apparently users miss out on 70 percent of content on their feed. Posts go unseen while Instagrammers slumber, for example.

‘The order of photos and videos in your feed will be based on the likelihood you’ll be interested in the content, your relationship with the person posting and the timeliness of the post,’ the announcement said. ‘As we begin, we’re focusing on optimising the order — all the posts will still be there, just in a different order.’

No mention was made of how it will improve Instagram’s business model, but if it follows Facebook’s steps, sponsored content and paid promotion won’t be far off. Accordingly the reception to the announcement has anticipated this.

‘It should be able to balance the right amount of authentic content versus advertising so that users do not feel overwhelmed,’ wrote Paul Melcher, founder of Kaptur, a news magazine about visual technology. ‘While it might curtail its earnings by limiting how many views organic posts receive, it will also allow them, a la Facebook, to charge more to reach a larger audience.’

Melcher’s conclusion is that this will be a risk for Instagram, as it has far fewer users than Facebook, and its users are drawn to the social media platform ‘for the authenticity of the content’. He added that research firm eMarketer estimates Instagram will generate US$1.5 billion in revenue this year, but that’s not confirmed as the social network doesn’t disclose such information.

Over on the Twittersphere, disgruntled users are using the hashtag #RIPInstagram, saying they don’t want to be told what they want to see – they are capable of finding it on their own.

Sarah Heard, an Instagrammer, has started a change.org petition demanding the feed stays in chronological order. There are currently 210,000 supporters.

‘We believe an algorithm-based feed will be detrimental to small business owners and artists who use this platform to communicate their products and services. Not to mention the communities that have been built within Instagram,’ Heard wrote.

Instagram said it will listen to feedback from the public, and Kevin Systrom, co-founder of Instagram, confirmed this to The New York Times, saying:

‘If it’s one thing we do really well as a company, it’s that we take big change slowly and deliberately and bring the community along with us. It’s not like people will wake up tomorrow and have a different Instagram.’

So far most the community reaction has been negative.