Why Do People Want to “Make Instagram Instagram Again”?
Bothered by the latest Instagram changes? You’re not alone.
Recently, a photographer that goes by username @illumitati posted an image with text that says “MAKE INSTAGRAM INSTAGRAM AGAIN. (stop trying to be tiktok i just want to see cute photos of my friends.) SINCERELY, EVERYONE”. This is also accompanied by a Change.org link which you can find in her bio.
The post has since been shared by Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner which we all know have millions of followers.
The post went viral and the petition currently has 300k signatures.
Tati Bruening is not the only photographer lamenting the loss of the old Instagram. Others voiced their concerns on Twitter.
Before @illumitati’s post, fellow photographer Inari Briana tweeted “Instagram hates photographers I’m convinced“
https://twitter.com/inaribriana/status/1546652188742750211
The tweet immediately gained thousands of likes and hundreds of responses. One user said “The IG algorithm is no longer geared towards still photography“.
https://twitter.com/pjlove10/status/1546921211992543232
In an attempt to compete with Tiktok, Instagram updated its algorithm to shift its focus on Reels and recommended content.
https://twitter.com/mosseri/status/1521589403671355392
Full-Screen Feed
The change: The redesign prominently shows a set of photos and videos in a TikTok-style format, taking up the entire screen of your phone and forcing you to swipe between posts.
The reason: Mosseri says this allows a more “immersive” experience and to discover more videos. He also says they are currently only testing the Full-Screen Feed and is not yet fine-tuned.
Video-Focused
The change: The algorithm is currently favouring more short videos. This update has been dubbed as “Trying to be Tiktok”. Despite this, Mosseri says that the app will continue to support photos.
The reason: The Instagram Head explains that “more of Instagram is going to become video overtime” and that it is an inevitability even if no changes are made. The best thing to do is to lean into this change “while continuing to support photos”.
Meanwhile, with the success of TikTok, YouTube made their own update and launched YouTube Shorts. After this, TikTok is now planning to increase the max length of its videos to 10 minutes.
Recommendations
The change: It shows more Reels from brands and “creators” (a.k.a influencers) you don’t follow. They show up in your feed because they are followed and watched by people in your following list.
The reason: The goal of this is to try and get users to discover other creators they haven’t seen or heard before. Mosseri says that if we see content we are not interested in, this means they are “doing a bad job and need to improve”. They are currently working on this feature to help other creators, particularly small ones, to reach a wider audience.
These changes were slowly rolled out soon after its announcement early this year. The Instagram head addressed the issues in late July.
https://twitter.com/mosseri/status/1551890839584088065
What were the latest changes made in response to the negative feedback?
Instagram made more changes to the feed in the hopes of improving the user experience. Mosseri launched Control Features in early August.
https://twitter.com/mosseri/status/1557393569975095302
Following and Favourites Feed
This feature was launched in March. It allows the user to choose what they want to see on their feeds by clicking on the Instagram dropdown at the upper left corner.
“Following” option only lets you see all posts from the accounts you follow in chronological order with no recommendations.
“Favorites” option lets you see posts from accounts you’ve selected to be in your Favorites list. A user will not be notified if you favorite or unfavorite them.
Not Interested
When you see a Recommendation or a Suggested Post that you don’t want to see, you can easily remove them from your feed by selecting the three dots in the top right corner of the post and clicking on “Not Interested”
Snooze
This option is for in case you want a breather from seeing posts from this account and would eventually like to get back to it after 30 days.
Mosseri says these are the new few ways to help users shape Instagram into an app that is best for them. After these updates were announced, people still think that the redesign is unnecessary. In response to this announcement, one user pointed out on Twitter that the “discover” area is where I find new content. The main feed should be to the ones I follow only.”
What do you think of these algorithm updates? Are you excited about Instagram being a video-focused platform or would you like it to return to its roots as a photo-sharing app? How are your marketing plans affecting these changes? Let us know! We want to hear from you. 😊
