Isn't that the idea? The Instagram ads are supposed to look like the posts you're looking at and hopefully your lizard brain stores the ad image as you scroll by.
I wonder to what extent this is a function of how one uses Instagram: ie, perhaps the parent comment's feed contains posts superficially similar to ads, while the composition of yours makes ads stand out in content and caption (my experience is closer to yours on Twitter and upon occasionally IG use).
Tangentially, I find IG's place in the social media panoply to be fascinating. It's the only service that everyone seems to feel positively about: it doesn't inspire the loathing that Facebook and Twitter does or the mockery that Snapchat does (even by their users).
But watching people use Instagram is the closest I see people coming to the popular addict/junkie metaphor and the stereotype of smartphones and social media turning us into slackjawed automatons in thrall to a colorful Skinner Box. It's really eerie.
Re:The Google Squeeze
by behindsight on Wednesday November 13, 2019 @12:02AM
(#21521293)
> It's the only service that everyone seems to feel positively about: it doesn't inspire the [...] mockery that Snapchat does (even by their users)
Well there is actually some mockery about the lengths some people go to alter their perceived appearance[0].
Re:The Google Squeeze
by chrisco255 on Tuesday November 12, 2019 @01:00PM
(#21516331)
I've bought several products as a result of Instagram ads. They are usually related to companies I follow or interests I have, like camping or some household goods. But I don't hate the ads. They are easy to scroll past and I don't have to engage with them. They don't seem too intrusive and sometimes they are interesting products to look at.
Re:The Google Squeeze
by mynegation on Tuesday November 12, 2019 @12:55PM
(#21516267)
I do not notice Instagram ads for a simple reason that I am yet to see a single one. It probably has to do with whom I follow: a very limited number of people I personally know, no brands, no influencers, no company grams etc. As a software developer I sometimes wonder what are the thresholds or criteria in Instagram systems to show ads.
> Search for something generic like "computer" and you can see an example of how hard it is to get information instead of ads.
To be fair, "computer" is such a generic term, I can't even imagine what you expect to see when you search for it.