Instagram goes search friendly: Takes on Twitter; showcases live events

Social media is not just about sharing, it's about being instant, live and discoverable. Twitter has been aiming to do this and the recent news about the possible year end launch of its Project Lightening – a feature that will track and assimilate all information including tweets, pictures and videos into a single page – is a proof of that.

But it looks like Instagram has beaten Twitter in the race and has just announced a total overhaul of its functionality with an all search and explore options.

Instagram's new features will allow users to search for anything with a hashtag and even list live events for users to follow.

"Today we’re excited to announce two major updates to Instagram that will help connect our community to the world as it happens: the all-new Explore page, with trending Tags and Places, and more powerful search that makes it easier to find the people, places, and tags you're looking for," Instagram announced on its blog on Tuesday.

According to it the new explore page will make it easier for users to discover new events and content based on hashtags, just like the way it operates on twitter.

At the top of the Explore page users will find new curated collections featuring accounts and places, from popular personalities and places. The feature is currently rolled out only in the United States, but new users outside the US including those in the UAE will be able to access the service immediately after signing up for a new account. However, the moment you register your device with a telephone number the feature just disappears.

"We'll work to bring it to the rest of the world after we fine tune the experience and set it up to work well in other countries," Instagram said in its post.

The new Places Search allows users to access all publicly tagged images of the place with all its features including the location on the map.

"Get a look inside that hot new restaurant or experience your favourite music festival — even if you couldn't make it this year. The new Top Search also lets you search across people, places and tags all at once," it added.

According to Instagram, more than 70 million photos and videos are being posted to Instagram every day by more than 300 million active users.

Twitter has a similar user base with about 302 million active users. According to reports its Project Lightening will only be rolled out by the end of 2015 and it needs to be seen if Instagram would run away with the trophy meanwhile.

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