Why did we build Dayflash?
I’m Rupali, co-founder of Dayflash, and I wanted to share more about why we created Dayflash and what our vision is for the future. To start with, Dayflash is a free mobile app and a new kind of social networking platform that’s unlocking the full potential of public self-expression through vertical photos and videos for the next generation. Our platform is currently available for iPhone users, and we plan to release an Android version in the near future.
So, why did we build Dayflash? We built Dayflash because we believe it should be easier to entertain or inspire the public through photos and short videos, and to form community and new friendships around interests. But, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to do that on today’s photo sharing apps.
I’m a fashion illustrator hobbyist, and I’ve been using apps like Instagram to share my illustrations with the public. And many people I’ve spoken with who’ve been trying to use apps like Instagram to share photos publicly, including myself, have been increasingly frustrated and are no longer seeing those apps as good enough for public expression and discovery.
And for those of you who don’t know, Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012. When Instagram first started out, their simple user experience was designed to favor public expression and community building around interests. Up until 2016, Instagram’s app was only about one thing, which was seeing home feed photos and short videos shown in chronological order by the people you choose to follow. And that simple format enabled many talented content creators to get great exposure on Instagram during their early days — as home feed photos got everyone’s full attention.
But all of that has changed. In the last few years, under Facebook’s control, Instagram has been integrating Snapchat and Facebook experiences into Instagram’s main platform, which has changed Instagram’s long-term purpose to favor private and personal sharing experiences between friends and family. As a result, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to have a public presence on Instagram.
People who have been trying to use Instagram for public expression have been experiencing huge drops in their engagement from followers. Part of the problem is due to the Home feed algorithm, which is designed to favor friends, family and celebrities (similar to Facebook’s algorithm), but the other part of the problem is because of the timeshare shift. The timeshare shift means people are spending less time viewing photos on their home feed, and instead they are spending more of their time chatting with friends, viewing stories, and shopping, because those are the experiences that Instagram has been putting front and center.
During Instagram’s early days, photos on the home feed got everyone’s full attention. But in the last few years Instagram has been trying to shift everyone’s attention away from photos on the home feed towards stories, IGTV and shopping. Plus, ever since Instagram started connecting users to their Facebook friends and family, the social graph has become much more about friends and family, which has changed how people use Instagram. In other words, the long-term changes that Facebook has been making to Instagram have been causing Instagram users to spend less and less time on creators.
What’s worse is many people who want to have (or even just maintain) a public presence around photos and short-videos are being forced to reluctantly pay money to Instagram through Business/Creator Accounts, just like how it works on Facebook. Why should we have to pay money through some business account to be seen by our own followers? We shouldn’t. It should be free.
And a lot of people in the media have been predicting that organic reach and discovery will become nearly impossible on Instagram in the next few years as Instagram continues to become more like Facebook and Snapchat.
So for all of the aspiring creators and influencers out there who are hoping to build a career by collaborating with brands on their marketing campaigns… well Instagram is basically competing with you on that as they want brands to spend more of their marketing budget on Instagram ads, specifically story ads, as they’re making Stories the dominant way to share on the platform. These changes are taking away career opportunities from content creators and influencers.
Taking everything into account, Instagram today is not the same as it was 3 years ago. People who want to build community around their interests and who want to share photos publicly to entertain or inspire others, are going to have to find a new photo sharing platform that’s specifically designed for that. This will only become more and more apparent as Instagram continues to become more like Facebook and Snapchat, thus making it increasingly more difficult to have a public presence around photos and short-videos.
This is why, the team and I at Dayflash, are stepping forward to make a difference. Not only are we introducing the first photo and video sharing platform that’s specifically designed for public expression and building community around interests, but we’re also innovating on the photo and short-video sharing experience.
For instance, we’ve invented a unique fullscreen photo display format that can make your photos look more compelling than on any other mobile photo sharing app. Our users love how Dayflash makes their photos look.
We’ve also created a fast and easy to stay connected with the people you follow. And our users really value that we have a chronological Home feed, and that we don’t use a Home feed algorithm to dictate which followers get to see their posts.
And finally, we’re introducing a new way to connect people using AI and keywords. On Dayflash, we don’t have hashtags. Instead, when users sign up, they can add keywords to their account that describe themselves, their content and interests. We then use machine learning and keywords to connect people through suggested users and Explore. Many people who have gripes with hashtags value that we’ve eliminated the need for hashtags, and replaced it with a faster and more fun way to share, discover and connect.
Our platform is not only for creators, it’s also for anyone who values sharing public self-expression and being inspired or entertained by a community of people who share their same interests. Dayflash is a fast, simple and fun way to keep up with accounts you love. One of our goals is to bring more opportunities to the world of creators while helping the public discover new creators from around the world.
Our vision is that there are people all over the world whose future can be brighter if we empower them to entertain or inspire the public through photos and short videos, and to form community around their interests. We believe that if we don’t step forward to make a difference, the true potential of public photo sharing may never be met, and it’ll become increasingly more difficult to have a public presence around photos.
More specifically, we see a future..
* Where users don’t have to pay money through a business account to have a public presence around photos.
* Where a company isn’t using a Home feed algorithm to dictate which followers get to see their posts.
* Where it’s easier to build community around your interests and make new friends.
* Where users feel appreciated and valued by a community of people who share their same interests, and therefore empowered to do more of what they love to do.
The team and I at Dayflash will always put our users first. We’re aiming to make a difference by unlocking the full potential of public expression and discovery around photos and short-videos.
