Real-time media is one of the best things about social media. Whether it’s a brand launching a new campaign, an artist announcing a new album or the latest animal superstar going viral, the first place you’re going to hear about it is online and more than likely on social media.

With live tweeting becoming regular practice, its no wonder Twitter is the go-to-platform when you want to see exactly what’s being said about an event as it’s happening. With its latest acquisition, Periscope, Twitter is continuing to dominate real-time media. Alongside live tweeting, you can also tune in and watch just about anything in the world as is happens.

However, Instagram are now in the process of upping their game. With a newly revamped explore tab and 300 million users, Instagram are proving themselves as worthy opponents in the real-time media game. With 70 million photos uploaded per day, Instagram is about to become more than just beautiful images and slow-motion videos.

The social networking site has just rolled out their recently re-vamped Explore tab in the U.S. and it will soon be available worldwide. The tab features Trending Tags, Trending Places, curated content as well as a new Places Search. Up until now, Instagram has been missing out on the potential real-time media has to offer as previous incarnations of the Explore tab have merely focused on what’s popular within your feed. Instead of just seeing top photos and videos liked by the people you follow, users will now be able to look for people, tags and places all in the same place. On top of this, Instagram have also added an enhanced Trending section for users to explore.

Like Twitter, it showcases all the real-time trending topics based on hashtags or places users have checked into. With live-streaming apps (like Periscope) sharing a lot of random content you switch in and out of, Instagram definitely has the potential to get a lot more interesting.

Trending allows users to see more candid representations of certain viral news stories. “We can look at all these festivals and concerts, but this is also pretty remarkable because you see all these people putting sand bags down after a flood, for example. You really get to feel what they are experiencing, and it really brings you into the moment,” Instagram project manager Blake Barnes said regarding the re-vamp.

We think adding a place search is a great touch and live streaming seems like the next logical step for Instagram. We can’t wait to get our paws on the new Explore tab!

What are you going to look up when this feature rolls out?