Should Instagram become a second Tiktok? The prominent users speak out against it.
(Photo: imago images/Future Image)
Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian are the stars on Instagram: A total of 687 million people follow them together on the social media platform. But the models, actresses and entrepreneurs are currently not on good terms with the medium.
“Make Instagram Instagram again” – the sisters support the petition from users. Meta should stop trying to make a second Tiktok out of it and pushing videos.
The accusation hits Meta and his boss Mark Zuckerberg to the core. The Facebook group published bad figures, and sales fell for the first time since the IPO. Profits also fell, as they have for three quarters.
There are many causes: a general slump in the advertising business, a strong dollar or the new and restrictive data protection rules on the iPhone.
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But one of the biggest concerns is Tiktok. The social network of the Chinese group Bytedance is celebrating great success with its short videos. Young users in particular enjoy themselves with dance routines or humorous clips. Meta tries to emulate this with its short videos, the “Reels”, and other offers.
Instagram is the crown jewel
But the new video strategy is met with incomprehension by experienced Instagram users such as Jenner and Kardashian. You know Instagram as a place for photos that you mainly get from friends or from your wider circle of acquaintances. But suddenly the app is flooded with videos from strangers. The campaign supported by the sisters has already attracted 130,000 people.
The Resentment is a dangerous evolution for Meta. The young generation of Tiktok users may win, but it is quite certain that the older generation, which has become prominent with Instagram as a photo platform, will lose. A threat to Instagram, the company’s crown jewel.
Facebook history could repeat itself. The social network is showing its age, mainly because younger people are using Facebook less and less. Meta’s ad growth over the past few years is primarily due to Instagram. Analysts already estimate Instagram’s share of Meta’s total ad revenue at 30 percent.
It’s certainly too early to write off Meta. Surprisingly, the group was able to increase the number of users slightly in the past quarter. But the culture war with the Kardashians and others will be a difficult task.
More: New low for Zuckerberg – Meta sales fall for the first time since IPO