Instagram has announced Features, the new function that aims to introduce videos up to 90 minutes long. In this way Instagram completes its transition from a social network to a platform where video materials are used. The comparison now is with Netflix.
Maybe it’s the last step. The latest update that completes a metamorphosis in progress for years. Let’s start with a question. When was the last time you posted on Instagram? If you scroll through your timeline it’s likely how often you post videos and photos has declined in recent yearseven if the time spent on the app has increased. THE Reel have started to suck a good part of the time spent with the smartphone in hand, i Carousel have increased our interactions, the most followed Instagram profiles have invested in the quality of their videos. Instagram is transforming: now it is no longer a social network. It has become first and foremost a platform, a vertical Netflix where even the most amateur videos coexist alongside major productions. Those self-produced by users. And with the latest update this step is about to become definitive.
The announcement was made by Adam Mosserihead of the app. Mosseri anticipated it on the podcast Colin And Samir: “We are starting to support long videos in the app.” The example given is actually interesting. One of the ways Instagram is being used right now is for distributing short videos taken from long videos. Simply put, videos arriving from podcasts travel here. The user starts from these clips, discovers a piece of content and then moves to another platform to see or listen to the complete content. Instagram is now working to stop this shift and allow creators to post long videos directly on the platform.
Explains Tessa Lyonsvice president of product at Instagram: “Reels will remain a key part of Instagram. But when you want to learn more about your favorite creators and the content they create, the ability to do so should be available on Instagram.” The new function should be called Features and it will be possible to upload videos with a maximum duration of 90 minutes. Now, it is quite clear that a function of this type is aimed first of all at creators, a step to transform Instagram into a platform increasingly close to Netflix, where the user does not search for content that comes from his social network but points to much more complex material.
There is a problem, however. On Instagram it is not monetized from views. The social network has not implemented tools that allow creators to earn direct income, not even from advertising. On YouTube earnings they are guaranteed by advertising or subscriptions, on TikTok you can donate through live broadcasts, Twitch allows you to earn from subscribers and live donations. There is the possibility of also subscribe to creator profiles on Instagrambut it’s not a well-trodden road. So why should a creator, or a media outlet, publish a 90 minute video on a platform from which revenues can be zero?
Meta, the company that manages Instagram, is working on this too. These are the statements of a company spokesperson released to TechCrunch magazine: “It is too early to share a long-term monetization model, but we are exploring different ways to allow creators to earn from brands, fans and Instagram, including performance-based incentives”.
