Instagram Is Being Used To Sell Stuff In Kuwait

Instagram is being used in a pretty unusual way in Kuwait.

Instead of being just a photo sharing service, it's also being used a storefront with people posting pictures of things they're selling.

Jason Kottke highlighted this excerpt from an interview with artist Fatima Al Qadiri, who grew up in Kuwait:

BR: Kuwait is a crazy mix: a super-affluent country, yet basically a welfare state, though with a super neo-liberal consumer economy.

FQ: We consume vast amounts of everything. Instagram businesses are a big thing in Kuwait.

BR: What’s an Instagram business?

FQ: If you have an Instagram account, you can slap a price tag on anything, take a picture of it, and sell it. For instance, you could take this can of San Pellegrino, paint it pink, put a heart on it, call it yours, and declare it for sale. Even my grandmother has an Instagram business! She sells dried fruit. A friend’s cousin is selling weird potted plants that use Astroturf. People are creating, you know, hacked products.

Instagram doesn't have a business model, yet. We doubt this model would scale, but it's an interesting alternative to traditional advertising.

There's more at Kotkke's site, including examples of Instagram stores >