*Update*
Meta have slightly rolled back on Adam Mosseri’s statements due to the light backlash that followed. They’re pausing their 9:16 feed testing, reconfiguring ‘recommendations’ and regrouping on how to move forward. I don’t think this changes the direction at all, I think it merely slows the pace. They’re still on the same road that has led many of us to feel dissatisfied with Instagram, they’re just driving a little slower than before.
Intro
Well, it’s just instagram isn’t it.
So Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri took “a few moments to clarify a few things.” Those things were mainly:
They’re testing a full 9:16 feed1, but it’s not quite working for them
They’re going to “continue to support photos as they’re part of our heritage”2
He predicts that more of instagram will become video over time
Clarifying what Recommendations3 are
The reasoning behind all of this is that we’re all sharing and consuming more and more video and that Instagram wants us to discover new and interesting things4.
Is it true?
I have no doubt that more videos are being posted and watched but is that the natural evolution of the platforms or a symptom of the platforms over-indexing video when they realised it kept people on them for longer? Mosseri says that even if they change nothing, people gravitate that way. So are people getting exactly what their actions asked for? Maybe so. Instagram has been heading in this directions for a while5 but this feels like a significant line in the sand…
Instagram is becoming an algorithm-based entertainment platform not a social network.
I think this change is easier for ‘content creators’ but trickier for people, makers and brands. It’s certainly going to be interesting to see how people adjust: video production is very different from stills and copy and I think the single image post will evaporate over time.
Opportunity
So we’ve seen the brief rise and stagnation of things like Dispo6 but I think, over time, there’s the potential for someone to provide a modern version of the peak Instagram-model. Photographers, illustrators, designers and, well, people want to share images and, at present, there’s no platform that really does that in a mass cultural way. It will be niche, as it’s swimming against the tide, and that’s the challenge.
Lots of apps pop up but they need to achieve that mainstream success you need to achieve a bit of cultural imprinting7 otherwise you end up like Truth Social.8
And that’s at the heart of what people want from Instagram: that it’s big enough that a lot of friends are on it and there’s also interesting and creative people on there too. That it’s quieter than TikTok, not angry like Twitter, and more visual than Facebook. In the way that it all those things seemed to coexist quite harmoniously for a time.
But if we want videos (and that TikTok algorithm is ruthlessly efficient and it’s exactly what Instagram/Meta wants). Than we’re going to get them, and here’s why:
Netflix has 220million9 global subscribers, TikTok has 1.6 billion10 active users. There’s money to be made from all of those eyeballs.
End
If you’re old enough to remember Facebook being fun, then you’ve seen this before. It’s happened before and it will again. Something will pop up, it always does. Let’s hope it’s fun, useful, peaceful and community based. Y’know, like Instagram was.
Interesting things this week
Roadrunner, the somewhat controversial documentary about the brilliant Anthony Bourdain is on Netflix (UK). It’s worth watching but it’ll never be as good as rewatching Parts Unknown.
The fantastic Joan Shelley has had a new record out for a few weeks now. It’s great.
I approve of this ‘content’…
Thanks for reading and sharing and if you’re new, or want to agree or disagree, then feel free to leave a comment or hit reply and say hello.
Go well in your week.
Onward!
Like TikTok
Single image photo posts are fucking dead
TikTok’s For You Page
Spend more time on the platform, and not on TikTok
IGTV was its attempt at battling YouTube