Instagram to Go More Video-Focused, Despite Kardashian’s Loud cry

After Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner criticized Instagram for trying to be like TikTok!

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has a clear strategy these days. The company is working toward making Instagram more like TikTok. We all know how Tiktok’s scrolling is addictive. And now, Meta with changes to its apps’ feeds and an increased focus on its vertical video product Reels, Meta is looking to copy the addictive scrolling experience that has turned TikTok into a cultural tastemaker. But, there’s just one problem. A significant portion of the Instagram user base is unhappy with the app’s new direction, and that fortuitous is led by some influential individuals. Sisters Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian, who control the second- and seventh-most followed accounts on Instagram, respectively, have reposted a Change.org petition, protesting against some of the app’s recent changes.

Make Instagram Instragam Again!

The movement “make Instagram Instagram again” is led by the two reality stars and other celebrities like Chrissy Teigen and this has become big enough to compel Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri to release a video explaining the recent changes to the platform and said it will become more video-focused over time. Following this, Adam shared a video on the microblogging site Twitter stating that this change is not taking place right now. He also wrote that the company is working to make Instagram a better experience.

As reported by CNBC, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been pushing into short videos, a market that TikTok dominates on mobile. Many users have not responded well to the change, and a post urging the company to “make Instagram Instagram again,” implying it should focus more on pictures friends post, has amassed over 1.6 million likes and resulted in nearly 140,000 petition signatures. Though several changes have led to the growing hostility toward Instagram, a particular sticking point has been the app’s recent redesign, which is still in the testing phase. The new-look Instagram is incredibly similar to TikTok, where it heavily prioritizes Reels and encourages users to scroll through their feed one item at a time. Users who are part of the new test are also seeing more “suggested posts” from accounts they do not follow, another shift that makes Instagram more like its micro-video competitor.

Is this Instagram Redesign Also a Test?

This is not the first time users have panned an Instagram redesign. In December 2018, the company changed its vertical scrolling homepage to a horizontal “tap-to-advance” format. The counteraction was deep, and the feed was later changed back to its original vertical format. As a part of this, Mosseri also said that redesign was a test. Similarly, this was also supposed to be a very small test but it went broader than was anticipated. Facebook, which is also owned by Meta, has also shifted to be more TikTok-like. Earlier this month, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, said users would begin seeing a renovated look when they open the mobile app. Users will see more looping videos in their feed, but they can also select what kind of feed they see. Their options include the main feed, a feed with friends’ posts only and a feed focused on groups.

This is not the first time users have panned an Instagram redesign. In December 2018, the company changed its vertical scrolling homepage to a horizontal “tap-to-advance” format. The counteraction was deep, and the feed was later changed back to its original vertical format. As a part of this, Mosseri also said that redesign was a test. Similarly, this was also supposed to be a very small test but it went broader than was anticipated. Facebook, which is also owned by Meta, has also shifted to be more TikTok-like. Earlier this month, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, said users would begin seeing a renovated look when they open the mobile app. Users will see more looping videos in their feed, but they can also select what kind of feed they see. Their options include the main feed, a feed with friends’ posts only and a feed focused on groups.

Does Instagram Care About the Feedback?

What’s more interesting is whether Instagram cares about the feedback, especially given Jenner’s history of weighing in on social platforms. In 2018, after a Snapchat redesign gave the company grief, Jenner tweeted that she doesn’t open the app anymore. Snap’s stock lost roughly US$1.3 billion in value over the following day. Jenner isn’t alone in her dislike for a short-form video-heavy Instagram: when Instagram posted a TikTok video announcing a test of the full-screen video feed, the post was flooded with negative reactions, many of which are the iterations of “NOOOOO.” But Instagram didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bottom Line

TikTok became the most-downloaded app of 2021, according to Cloudflare, a web security and performance company. The video platform has already surpassed three platforms owned by Meta. Is this the reason why Meta is trying to make its app more video focused?