Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, is not happy about the platform’s TikTok rival Reels. He discussed the format, which was introduced in the US in August, during an interview with The edgesay Decoder podcast today.
“I’m not happy about that yet,” he says. ‘We’re both growing in terms of how many people share and how many people consume, but we still have a long way to go. And we have to be honest that TikTok is ahead. ”
He said the team is currently mostly concentrating on a table interest, not paying attention to how to differentiate itself. Specifically, he cites TikTok’s innovative creative tools, such as filters and effects that inspire new video meme formats as something Instagram has yet to make on its own, but ultimately has to do.
‘I think we need to get better at building more powerful and creative tools that are not necessarily a meme or some kind of moment in a package, but people who are more creative than us and who make a living content, the ability to make something that will appear, ”he says.
Instagram also sees a conflict between the many different video formats. Mosseri says ‘most people’ probably do not know the difference between videos posted on Instagram and IGTV, the format of the app for longer videos that has existed since 2018.
“It’s probably too nuanced a distinction to appeal to everyone, so we’re looking at how we can – not just with IGTV but also on all Instagram – simplify and consolidate ideas, because we had a lot of new ones last year. bets entered into, “he says. “I think we need to return this year to our focus on simplicity and craftsmanship.”
This is a very different tone than when Instagram introduced the format and called it the “future of video”. But it speaks to the rapid success of TikTok, which in 2018 was not fully known in mainstream culture, but is now a driver of conversations, memes and viral dances. Mosseri indicates that IGTV and Reels, as well as general videos posted on the Instagram network, need some sort of consolidation and clarity, which makes sense, especially if the app is trying to do everything at once.