Topline
Instagram will temporarily pause some new changes to the social media platform that made it more like competitor TikTok, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri told journalist Casey Newton on Thursday, after the planned changes drew widespread backlash from users of the app—including from major creators like Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian.
A user on Instagram social network in L’Aquila, Italy, on October 3, 2020.
Key Facts
Mosseri said “people are frustrated” over Instagram’s feed redesign, like its change to full-screen display that was rolled out to some users, citing “usage data.”
Instagram will temporarily show users less recommended content in their feeds, Mosseri said, until this function is improved.
Despite complaints otherwise, Mosseri said the app still prioritizes content from users’ family members and friends, rather than brands, because “more photos and videos are shared into stories in a day than are shared to feed,” and through DMs.
Mosseri said the way Instagram is designed has had little effect on users’ tendency to watch more videos on the social media platform, as many critics have suggested, claiming “the growth of video we have seen long predates us leaning more into recommendations and unconnected content.”
Crucial Quote
“I’m glad we took a risk—if we’re not failing every once in a while, we’re not thinking big enough or bold enough,”Mosseri told Newton. “But we definitely need to take a big step back and regroup.”
Key Background
Last week, Instagram announced several planned changes to its platform, including a prioritization of video content over photos, which were the app’s focus since its inception. The changes were met with widespread complaints from average users and large creators with millions of followers, leading Mosseri to make a video Tuesday addressing the concerns. Meta—Instagram and Facebook’s parent company—has viewed video-app TikTok’s exponential growth as a threat to its own. In 2020 it launched Reels, a video competitor to TikTok.
Tangent
Meta reported its first-ever decline in revenue Wednesday, with $28.8 billion for the second quarter of this year, a nearly 1% dip from the same period in 2021.
Further Reading
Instagram Exec Defends Shift To Video Despite Complaints From Creators Like Kylie Jenner (Forbes)
Facebook Parent Meta Shares Fall After Company Warns Of ‘Weak Advertising Demand’ (Forbes)
Instagram Isn’t Going To Turn Into TikTok Jr. For Now (Buzzfeed News)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/07/28/instagram-pauses-on-some-tiktok-like-changes-for-now-after-complaints/