HOW INSTAGRAM HACKS PERCEPTION

Summary from the TLDR Marketing newsletter

Instagram grew by designing for perceived speed rather than actual speed. It used predictive uploading by starting the photo upload as soon as users selected a filter, which made posts appear instant. This UX strategy gave it a major edge over competitors like Hipstamatic, which focused on image quality instead of speed. The approach helped Instagram reach 25,000 users on launch day, 1 million in 3 months, and 14 million in 14 months.