Instagram is updating Reels with a new content-display addition that
shows a ‘Following’ tab next to the main Reels Feed. Is Instagram trying to
make Reels look even more like Tik-Tok’s display? It seems so.
Instagram is testing the new addition with users in India, who
are able to access the new tab with a side-swipe, which shows a screen with the
latest Reels clips in different categories, that can be scrolled through.
It’s no surprise that Instagram decided to bring an alternating Feed approach to Reels, since this is something that drives most of TikTok’s success, which has both the Following and For You tabs. By swiping to and scrolling through the Following Feed in Reels, users can explore more specific content from the accounts that they follow, which would boost engagement with the feature.
However, the way Reels functions is still not as efficient
as TikTok’s system, since it lacks the algorithm that is the key secret behind TikTok’s
massive popularity. Regardless, Instagram is working on getting to the same level,
as Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined his vision regarding Meta’s social graph
that provides users with “content from the whole universe” that people don’t
follow directly, which he believes, would unlock “a large amount of interesting
and useful videos and posts” that people might have otherwise missed.
Meta’s key focus is the integration and use of AI, which it
relies on to recommend a wide range of content to people, and uses it as a “Discovery
Engine,” speaking of which, Zuckerberg added, “In the future, I think that
people will increasingly turn to AI-based Discovery Engines to entertain them,
teach them things, and connect them with people who share their interests.”
