Last year, Mosseri gave a similar address. He posted a video explaining that the social media platform was going to make some changes to point it toward video content. He stated that Instagram is no longer a photo-sharing platform. Honestly, he’s not wrong in that respect.
Instagram head, Adam Mosseri, commented on the platform’s pivot toward video
In a 2-minute 27-second video, Mosseri gave us a little update on what’s going on with Instagram. Firstly, he gave us a heads-up on a change coming to the platform. The change will bring full-screen posts to your feed. Right now, the company is testing this out with a selection of users. You might see it, but chances are that you won’t. Next, he addressed the users’ concerns with the company’s tough pivot toward video content. As we know, Meta owns Instagram, and the company has been in a bloody feud with the king of short-form video, TikTok. Meta has been pushing short-form video content across Instagram and Facebook en masse. This is why you’re seeing such an emphasis on Reels across the two platforms.
I wanted to address a few things we’re working on to make Instagram a better experience. Please let me know what you think 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/x1If5qrCyS — Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) July 26, 2022 In the video, Mosseri is responding to the concerns that users are having about seeing more video content on the platform. Before it became a Reel factory, Instagram was a platform primarily for photos. Mosseri did hammer home the thought that the company’s going to continue to push video. “I need to be honest: I do believe that more and more of Instagram is going to become video over time.” That’s not great news for people who want to use the platform for photos. However, it might not be something that the company can control.
We can’t just blame the platforms
It’s not only the platform that’s making a shift toward video, it’s also the audience. As the TikTok bug infects more people, you’re going to see more users schlep their video content over to more places. Yes, YouTube created Shorts, but it’s up to the people to utilize the platform and turn Shorts into a TikTok rival. “…more and more of Instagram is going to become video over time. You see this even if we change nothing. You see this even if you look at the chronological feed.” This is true. Users are using Instagram as a platform to push their video content along with other platforms. As time goes on, we’re not sure what Instagram will do. If you’re upset with Mosseri, just know that he’s most likely taking orders from Meta. That company has been in a screaming match with TikTok, so you can bet that that’s the inspiration behind this.
