Adam Mosseri may have taken a step back, but the platform’s future appears to be becoming more “video friendly.”
Who could have predicted the Instagram crisis, which quickly turned from the platform’s chief executive Adam Mosseri’s statements that the new version was only a test to public. Enemy number one was after the feed and algorithm changes that had turned instagram into a confusing version of TikTok, is it possible to spread so much rumor about a consistent idea that would lead to nothing ?In fact, it is evident from the video Mosseri posted on his profile that the end has only been postponed and that Instagram’s future will be more “video friendly,” with the possibility of seeing experiments of every kind in the coming months in an effort to find the one that can enrage the fewest users possible. It’s no secret that the most recent version of Instagram was a failure on all fronts, causing a wave of outrage that included all user types and mobilizing celebrities on the platform like Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, and Chiara Ferragni in an effort to stop what appears to be coming to an end: Instagram as we know it.
In the past, it was Facebook who collapsed by introducing Stories; now, Instagram is getting ready to follow suit in an effort to catch up with TikTok, which experienced a pandemic from an unnamed object to the social media pole star. What we have realized is that, social considerations aside, the contents have altered, more quickly and superficially, to be passively enjoyed and therefore recognisable in brief films selected for us by an algorithm.A system that, over time, also made Youtube outdated and that, most likely, will determine how social networks will be used in the upcoming years, pushing anybody who wants to live in the post-and-reel jungle to adapt. It is no accident that individuals like Kim Kardashian and Chiara Ferragni have come out so forcefully in favor of keeping Instagram as it is now, the platform on which they and many other figures have built a portion of their success and which, in the event of a change in the platform, would pose a significant challenge for their social media managers. However, brands—whether those of businesses or individuals—will have to adapt to changing circumstances and find the best strategy to survive.
Fashion, on the other hand, has always had a complex relationship with social media: on the one hand, Bottega Veneta has long since abandoned its Instagram account, whereas Balenciaga tends to keep her profile empty by periodically archiving posts, somewhat like those teenagers with perpetually empty profiles.The concept is to focus less on how long a piece of content will last and more on how it will affect us when we see it for the first time. This is something TikTok is good at, and it seems to go against those who, like Prada, view social media as a photographic album where they can alternate campaign photos with celebs’ red carpet outfits.An idea that will unavoidably change with the demise of Instagram and its “video friendly” approach, adapting most of all to the needs of generations other than those who previously used the platform and who appear to be much less interested in both fashion and the idea of content that is mandated from above by businesses. It is no accident that on TikTok, the most popular luxury-related videos do not originate from the brands’ official accounts but rather from the profiles of regular users who, between an unboxing and a Get Dressed With Me video, manage to be more compelling and convincing than the official content of the various Gucci and Louis Vuitton brands that, in the future after Instagram, will use TikTok as their platform of choice.
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