Reels – Meta’s short-form video product
“Facebook is pushing creators to “Reels,” a platform to create short entertaining videos. Effects and music can be added or the ability to use original audio, the company wrote, describing the platform. Videos created in “Reels” will appear in places like Facebook Feed, the “Reels” section on Facebook, or the creator’s “Reels” profile….This…will make the Facebook app more like TikTok, owned by ByteDance, the Chinese-owned social media app.”
When I first read that article, about Facebook sunsetting Live Shopping to focus on Reels, and the fact that the two days I spent in Meta’s Small Business Studio sessions were chock full of nothing but Reels (okay, and maybe a bit of the Metaverse), I thought, ‘Wow, I really need to start making Reels, as Meta is going ALL IN on this!’
But then, I saw the skepticism like:
“Instagram Is Having An Existential Crisis: What Should It Do Now-“ and
Instagram Is Facing an Identity Crisis:
“
Conclusion
Instagram, an app that gained popularity for giving users access to amazing photo filters is slowly becoming a botched up mess.
Today, by condensing features of Snapchat, YouTube, and TikTok(with plans of merging Messenger), Instagram is suffering from an identity crisis.
By tapping into the markets of other rival apps Instagram is losing the whole plot and focus from their target audience(which aren’t TikTok teenagers or YouTube influencers).
The world values specialists and not generalists. And Facebook, by doing just the opposite with Instagram, is shooting itself in the foot.”
Makes me wonder if it may be worth it just to take a little time to see what really shakes out.
