No longer satisfied with merely being a photo-sharing social network with pretty filters, Instagram is moving in on the ephemeral messaging territory currently dominated by Snapchat. Selecting Singapore, New Zealand and South Africa as the three initial test markets, Instagram is looking to work out the kinks before pushing for a domestic launch in the States.
For now, Bolt seems to lack a unique feature that would set it apart from the myriad of other “speed-first” messaging apps currently on the market. Even Facebook, who owns Instagram, already have a similar messaging app Slingshot, whose fate now looks troubling with Bolt entering the picture. Still, given that messaging apps are the new leading force of social platforms, it makes sense for Instagram to at least take a bolted shot at this for Facebook.
