Instagram this week released a new feature called Notes, and with it, one thing has become immediately clear: the “away message” is back, and oh how we’ve missed it. Notes are essentially status bubbles, giving Instagram users a space to post a 60-characters-or-less message that will appear alongside their profile icon in the DMs tab for 24 hours. Notes support text and emojis, that’s it.
For anyone who existed online during the internet’s Wild West era (the early 2000s), it’s a deeply familiar format, triggering flashbacks to MSN and AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), Myspace, the gen-1 iPod Nano, and tYPiNG likE thiS. Back then, it was all about the away message — brief, customizable messages that would show up next to a person’s screen name when they marked themselves “Away.” While their intended purpose was to let a user’s friends know they were busy, they often served as a glimpse into the tumultuous teenage mind. Instagram’s Notes, many have pointed out, feel like the away message resurrected.
Notes Resurrect An Early Internet Staple
In a blog post announcing the feature, Instagram beckons, “Share your thoughts.” And why not, right? To write a Note, users just need to navigate to the Messages tab and tap the '+' sign that now exists on a circular icon of their profile picture. Next to that is a sideways-scrolling feed of other users’ Notes. Once a user has penned the note (which maxes out at 60 characters), they can share it with all of their friends, or just their Close Friends list. Notes can be deleted after posting but not edited, and they’ll only stick around for 24 hours.
It’s no wonder people can’t stop comparing Notes to one of the aughts’ most memorable online experiences. Away messages were a blank canvas upon which to spill one’s calculated thoughts and emotions for all who mattered to see. They were home to many a cryptic selection of emo lyrics, hints at extremely fun plans bound to make others jealous, bad attempts at clever jokes, and pledges of tween love composed only of initials and proto-emojis like “<3”. Rather than disappearing into an endless feed like, say, a tweet or a Facebook status, away messages remained tethered to an individual.
So far, people seem to be latching onto Notes if only for the nostalgia of it all. Sure, the text-based feature may look like an obvious stab at Twitter as users are quitting the microblogging website in droves, but Instagram isn’t exactly known for its originality these days. Happy oversharing!
Source: Meta