When it comes to social media, Instagram has always been on top of the charts.
The Facebook-owned platform consistently updates the app with new features, keeping it a few steps ahead of the curve.
While the app is extremely popular amongst social media addicts, its IGTV feature still has yet to take off and dominate the social media sphere the way the entire platform has in recent years.
The video-sharing feature (and standalone app) was rolled out over a year ago, but has yet to become Instagram’s shining star. According to TechCrunch, the platform is now trying something a little bit different in order to increase IGTV’s popularity amongst users.
“IGTV has ditched its category-based navigation system’s tabs like ‘For You’, ‘Following’, ‘Popular’, and ‘Continue Watching’ for just one central feed of algorithmically suggested videos — much like TikTok,” Josh Constine writes for TechCrunch.
Now, a user’s feed has become more centralized and reliant on algorithm recommendations based on their likes and engagement within the app.
If you’re a TikTok user, you know the platform is comprised of never-ending videos of people (mainly Gen-Zers) singing along to pop hits, dancing or simply fooling around.
But what makes this platform widely-used is its simple, user friendly one-at-a-time feed design. A TikTok user is able to swipe away, whenever they’re done watching a video.
IGTV also changed its horizontal scrolling layout to a more Snapchat-like Discover feed, where now you can scroll vertically through a 2x infinity grid of endless content recommended by Instagram.
Although it seems very promising, the vertical layout still has a couple of set backs. Users might have noticed how the video scales in on IGTV content and crops out bits of it, compromising the user’s viewing experience.
Will this new IGTV update encourage users to create content and watch more IGTV content? Only time will tell…
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.
Written by Farida Mohamed.