Instagram CEO Defends Shift to Video Content, Says Photo Support Will Continue

[randomthoughts]

I don’t use instagram anymore because I don’t like how it makes people to feel pressured to be an influencer or to become a slave to an audience you will never personally connect with in real life. So many people spend so much of their time creating the optics of a life they don’t really live. It’s delusional. Not to judge anyone who uses it or that everyone is that way, it just seems more harmful than helpful. Stop feeding the beast your content they use to make more money.

 

[kirk.vino]

Oh sure, photos will still be supported but they’ll be deprioritized and reach practically nobody.

The reach on photos has already gone down the drain, in my case from 1-2k likes per post to barely 300. You can do the math. The platform is pretty much ruined: it’s so trashy, buggy, and just not fun to use now.

 

[PPopMatt]

I HATE Instagram!!!!!!! They don't even show posts!!

Not only that, they don't link our posts to hashtags into the #hashtag search, which is what made Instagram a great tool...

its just f&cking High School Popularity Bullsh&t!!!

Sorry - I won't play that GAME!

Also, I really despise the feeds I get. The video and the Ads SUCK!

BTW, I may like ONE VIDEO here and there, but the algorithm jams multiple Videos down your throat, if you click on ONE!!

IT JUST SUCKS!!

If they Just return to simply feeding photos and hashtaged photo's and interests to the people who post and follow them, period, it would be great like it twas...

Since "they" WON'T do this, I cannot wait for Facebooks and Instagram's demise!!

Its a tool, and the Tool is full of SH&T

@#!$^#$&#$%$%^**$&!!

 

[nwcs]

I dislike all the video formats and Instagram’s implementation as well. Maybe this will spur a mild revival in Flickr? I suppose the time is near to delete Instagram again…

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Instagram video content is a joke already. Half of the time it's filled with random commercial ads. This is pure greed.

Sorry, Instagram. You cannot compete with TikTok. Stop trying to be them. Stick to the original business plan.

Pretty much true. If it's unrelated ads to what I already like and follow, it's videos of females in bathing suits or skimpy clothing dancing and bouncing around.

Stay classy, IG...

 

[eNJayBe]

I remember when instagram was iOS only and I had an Android phone. It was one of the things that made me want an iPhone. Then when they announced the future was video, I deleted my account, if I wanted to watch videos, there’s YouTube.

 

[TheDailyApple]

I personally see Instagram’s bloating as a great opportunity for it to be replaced. Maybe someone like telegram will release an alternative that focuses on photos (plus privacy). I’d see that as a win-win.

Apple could give it a shot, but I don’t see a new social media app/service succeeding unless it’s truly platform independent. (Apple services will inevitably favor Apple devices.)

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

I HATE Instagram!!!!!!! They don't even show posts!!

Not only that, they don't link our posts to hashtags into the #hashtag search, which is what made Instagram a great tool...

its just f&cking High School Popularity Bullsh&t!!!

Sorry - I won't play that GAME!

Also, I really despise the feeds I get. The video and the Ads SUCK!

BTW, I may like ONE VIDEO here and there, but the algorithm jams multiple Videos down your throat, if you click on ONE!!

IT JUST SUCKS!!

If they Just return to simply feeding photos and hashtaged photo's and interests to the people who post and follow them, period, it would be great like it twas...

Since "they" WON'T do this, I cannot wait for Facebooks and Instagram's demise!!

Its a tool, and the Tool is full of SH&T

@#!$^#$&#$%$%^**$&!!

It IS frustrating. I don't post anything...I'm a sponge. But i follow people with two interests yet my "suggested feed" is complete BS and is nothing I like. Once I got bombarded by kitten photos for days, and another time Jeep photos! Why? Because I might have paused on a cute cat photo for a second? I'm afraid to like friends posts because I'm afraid I'll be inundated with posts in that topic (art, in this case). I'll "like" 100 posts on cigars, for instance, and "like" one food picture, and my feed becomes ALL food posts.

It's just ridiculous how their system works.

 

[erikkfi]

All of you who dislike the state of Instagram have the means to solve your own problem.

 

[sfwalter]

I use to be an avid Instagram user. I love to see photos of people I followed. Now it has turned into of cesspool of "recommendations". Photos from those that I follow are getting lost among constant "recommendations" and videos from people I have zero interest in.

If I want the TikTok experience I would go to TikTok.

At least Instagram has afforded me the option of going back to Flickr and 500px.

 

[Premium1]

My feed contains less and less photos from the users I follow and more and more videos from accounts that I'm not remotely interested in 🤷‍♂️

Such a shame that every successful app becomes increasingly worse over time as they're squeezed dry of every last little drop of profit.

Agree. I hate how 99% of the stuff on IG is random accounts (that I have never liked nor followed) instead of the people I actually follow (and yes I know I can go and switch it at the top but that should be on by default, not having to constantly switch back to it).

 

[toph2toast]

Oh sure, photos will still be supported but they’ll be deprioritized and reach practically nobody.

then they will do away with them completely, arguing that no one views that content.

 

[toph2toast]

If they don't change then they'll go out of business.

I disagree, they had an an area for videos in their stories. Why not have a dedicated place to watch videos, and another to see photos? I really enjoy and appreciate photography, and follow certain people so I can see their work. Why should a photographer now start to have to make videos just to get noticed?

 

[temende]

I disagree, they had an an area for videos in their stories. Why not have a dedicated place to watch videos, and another to see photos? I really enjoy and appreciate photography, and follow certain people so I can see their work. Why should a photographer now start to have to make videos just to get noticed?

I stopped regularly using Instagram a few years ago so I'm not sure what it's like now. My point was that social network fads come and go in waves, so either Instagram adapts to the new reality of short-form video eating their lunch or they go out of business.

Any social media app that relies on ads to sustain itself will constantly have to pivot to whatever the hot new thing is that young people are into.

 

[jezbd1997]

instagram is becoming harder and harder to use. it used to be cleanest and easiest app to use but now it’s the opposite. i have been contemplating not using it anymore if it keeps getting worse like this

 

[madebybela]

Mosseri says recommendations can be snoozed for up to a month, but Instagram is going to try to get better at recommendations because it is "one of the most effective and important ways to help creators reach more people."

I don't care about "creators" trying to reach me lol

 

[DocMultimedia]

Back in my day...I remember there was a thing called an "image". Those days are fading, like an old paper photo.

I've been using Instagram less every week due to the endless number of ads, along with video ads. It's hard to even see photos of people you follow.

 

[Skyscraperfan]

Recommendations are "the best way for creators to reach people"? So Instagram cares more about its creators than its users? Spamming content from people I do not follow into my News Feed is very intrusive. If I do not follow an account, it really means that I do not want to see its content in my news feed. Also the fact that an account is popular does not mean that I might be interested in following it. The opposite is true: If an account already is followed by a lot of people, I do not want to be another follower. Instagram is only fun if you can interact with the accounts you follow.

That is especially annoying for Apple users, who do not have an easy option to downgrade to an earlier version of Instagram without that annoying News Feed spam. On an Android phone that works much better. You can install any older version of Instagram and if that version is not too old, it still is supported by Instagram. Apple should really make downgrading much easier by forcing developers to keep an older version available in the App store as long as that version also works on Android. New versions may sometimes come with security upgrades, but that hardly ever happens with Instagram. Instagram just developes new annoying features and sometime even gets rid of good features. Instagram once had a map for example where you could see all the posts of an account. That was really useful.

If Instagram continues like that, it will alienate old users and the young users do prefer TikTok anyway. It might soon end up like Facebook that hardly anybody uses any more. The only thing people use on Facebook is the messenger and even that one is not very good.

 

[xRem]

So here is what will happen: Instagram will change. Instagram will have some great quarters with decent sign-up numbers. However active user base is going to shrink and existing users will eventually give up on it. At some point Instagram is going to win or lose against TikTok. If they win - yay, you are now Gen Z social network number 1. But if they lose? Instagram will have lost a lot of goodwill and all those former users won't come back. It will essentially be the same thing that happened to Facebook when Meta tried to make it more and more like Instagram.

 

[WaxedJacket]

I've uninstalled the app. Every update makes the app worse. Let TikTok do its thing and make Instagram it's unique app.

 

[bviktor]

In recent months the "suggested posts" feed's gone to complete utter sh*t. To me, it went from landscape photos of Norway and Iceland (which I enjoyed for YEARS) to completely random dumb sh*t like dogs barking at their stupid owners, stupid people jumping around breaking their stuff, cooking random food, staged comedy, drag races, etc. WTAF. I never checked out content like this, let alone liked any of them. But Instagram just keeps pushing it IN MY FACE.

Instagram users have also been unhappy with recommendations, which are posts that Instagram inserts into a feed based on other accounts followed.

You see, that's my f*cking problem. That THIS IS A LIE. These "recommendations" have absolutely nothing to do with the accounts I actually follow. Not anymore. I kept pressing "this topic doesn't interest me" for a while. After pressing that on like 50 posts, it finally reverted to landscapes... mostly videos of them, of course. Until next day, that is, when it was all about dogs and cars and cooking again. After quite a few attempts I just gave up. I just don't really use the app anymore. What a shame.

So in a nutshell, I guess they wanted me to use the app more, and they achieved the exact opposite. Way to go, above and beyond.

 

[mariusignorello]

I don’t use instagram anymore because I don’t like how it makes people to feel pressured to be an influencer or to become a slave to an audience you will never personally connect with in real life. So many people spend so much of their time creating the optics of a life they don’t really live. It’s delusional. Not to judge anyone who uses it or that everyone is that way, it just seems more harmful than helpful. Stop feeding the beast your content they use to make more money.

It’s true tho. So many of these influencers work a day job but don’t dare speak of it. The truth ends up slipping out through the grapevine or an accidental remark about their job.

Lying to your audience and being phony is grounds for judgement in my opinion. Honesty builds trust with your audience and sets the right expectations.

 

[Rogifan]

I absolutely loathe the update they did with Instagram. Tiny fonts and video that autoplays. Gross. Oh and why can’t Instagram offer proper search functionality like Twitter does? On Twitter you can search for anything (not just hashtags/specific accounts). You can search by date. You can filter your search to just show verified accounts. You can search based on # of replies or likes. You can search from within a specific account. Instagram has none of that.

 

[TVreporter]

I'm one of the late joiners to Instagram and in under a year it's now jammed with crap.

I just wanted a place to post some nature/wildlife photos to share with friends. Now any post is instantly buried in a stream of reels and ads.

 

[kirk.vino]

So here is what will happen: Instagram will change. Instagram will have some great quarters with decent sign-up numbers. However active user base is going to shrink and existing users will eventually give up on it. At some point Instagram is going to win or lose against TikTok. If they win - yay, you are now Gen Z social network number 1. But if they lose? Instagram will have lost a lot of goodwill and all those former users won't come back. It will essentially be the same thing that happened to Facebook when Meta tried to make it more and more like Instagram.

I find it hard to believe they can win: Gen Ziers don’t care about it, as they prefer TikTok and IG itself keeps alienating its core base. It’s so messy now! It still has the older copycat moment that they lifted from Snap with their stories. That, combined with the very first original structure of IG and mixed with their new TikTok wannabe implementation. It’s all very inflated and messy in structure now. There’s no identity left there.