Instagram wasn’t always the filter-laden, FOMO-inducing platform you know and love/hate/never-installed-anyway.
First, it was a whisky app. No, really.
Instagram’s whisky-soaked history
Called Burbn, it was founded by whisky fan Kevin Systrom and named after his favourite drink.
This location-based iPhone app inspired by Foursquare (the social networking platform, not the rum distillery) allowed users to check in at locations, plan meet-ups, earn points for socialising, and post photos of their experiences. It was made to help people discover new whisky and places to drink it.
Burbn, however, flopped. It was overloaded with features, making it clunky and confusing.
Rather than ditching it outright, Systrom analysed how people were using the app. He brought in Mike Krieger, another programmer, and together they sifted through user data.
They discovered that people weren’t bothering with check-ins or points; they were obsessed with sharing photos.
Burbn, before it became Instagram
From Burbn to Instagram
So, they pivoted. They stripped Burbn down to its most popular feature: photo sharing. Everything else was cut. What remained was a streamlined app that allowed users to post a photo in just three clicks.
At the time, Hipstamatic had great filters but lacked easy sharing. Facebook dominated social networking but didn’t offer a seamless photo-sharing experience. Systrom and Krieger spotted a gap. They kept Burbn’s photo, comment, and like features, refined the user experience, and added filters.
After months of tweaking, on 12 October 2010, they launched their new app. It wasn’t called Burbn anymore. It was called Instagram.
Of course, there’s still a big whisky community on Instagram. We should know. Over 208,000 of you follow us on the platform, and #WhiskyGram continues to thrive.
It could have been Scotch…
Burbn was a false start, but the best ideas often evolve. Did you know that YouTube started as a dating site?
Instagram even had another prototype.
Its name? Scotch.
