CHRONOLOGICAL INSTAGRAM? PROS AND CONS OF THE ALGORITHM // So, some news were leaking recently HERE and HERE, that Instagram might be testing chronological feed for some users. I’m surprised these haven’t got more traction as that would be amazing news, but honestly, I don’t believe this is the direction Instagram would go as they’re pretty serious about their ads and promotions strategy.

It’s obvious that we all hate the algorithm. It messes up our stats, business, and for some people - their well being. Plus my personal favorite - it forces people to cheat and trick the system and everything becomes a race which kills all the fun. Unfortunately, unless the "chronological Instagram" news turn out to be real, the algorithm is here to stay so we can look at the bright side and figure out some advantages it has so we can use them for our own good.

1. Times don’t matter in non chronological feed

If you’re someone like me with followers all around the world, you don’t have to care about posting times that much. Instagram will sort the photos out on their own anyway. Just don’t post when everyone’s sleeping, that’s obviously not very smart.

2. If people enjoy your stuff, you’ll actually do even better

The algorithm is based on how much people engage with your photos, videos, captions. So if you’re doing a good job, the algorithm actually helps you even more. There are accounts that sky rocketed thanks to the algorithm. It's not impossible.

3. You won’t miss your favorite photographer’s posts (hopefully)

There have definitely been posts from people I regularly interact with that were not showing up on my feed. But most of the times I actually see my “favorites” on top of my feed (and in front of the stories section too), which is pretty cool because I don’t spend that much time scrolling.

4. Numbers are getting less and less relevant

All the complaining by literally everyone is definitely valid. We’ve worked hard to build a following only to have Instagram take it all away just like that. But at least now we can stress less about the numbers because it’s clearly not our fault and everyone is struggling with the same stuff anyway. Some photos just do better than others and it's not always in our control. I think that is totally ok.

5. ...

Ok, relax, there are not as many. The algorithm pretty much sucks. This TWEET says it all.