The American photographer and influencer Tati Bruening (known as Illumitati on her social networks) proclaimed a few days ago the need for Instagram to return to what it was before and more vertical content, short videos similar to those published on TikTok on mysterious way like, and prefer recommendations from Instagram users other than those you follow. “Let Instagram be Instagram again. Stop trying to be TikTok I just want to see cute pics of my friends. Sincerely everyone,” reads the publication that he shared three days ago. According to what he tells this newspaper via video call from Germany, Brüning got the idea to post this after spending some time applying on Friday night and realizing that none of the publications he saw interested him: “Everything was from people I didn’t know, or commercials, and almost everything was on video. I was a little frustrated,” she explains.
Since uploading this protest message to his Instagram profile, a platform where he has 314,000 followers (and now only growing), the publication has added a million and a half “likes”. Among the users who followed in his footsteps and shared the post meets American celebrity Kylie Jenner, the second largest follower in the world (360 million, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo), and his sister Kim Kardashian (326 million). “When I saw Kylie shared it, I thought they were pranking me,” he says, laughing.
Brüning was not happy with this initiative in the Instagram application itself: at the same time, he created a petition on Change.org with the aim of reaching 150,000 signatures, so that Instagram and its parent company Meta listen to those who are asking for the application to be returned, such as it was known until not so long ago. So far it has added more than 146,000 signatures. Once it reaches 150,000, the initial goal, the photographer explains that she will update to reach more people: “We can still do more.”
Instagram Director Adam Mosseri today responded to the petition’s four demands; just three days after Illumitati posted the image. The creator is pleased with the response and finds it very positive that Instagram and its CEO have reached out to users. “I was looking less for an action from Instagram and more for clear communication and dialogue with users and creators about the functionality of the application,” he explains. A few days ago, he shared a video calling for constructive criticism of the platform, defending that, whether users are right-wing or left-wing, everyone agrees on nostalgia for the old Instagram. .
“Reels are nothing more than recycled Tiktoks”
One of the changes the petition is calling for is reversing the Reels strategy, the type of video Instagram has been capturing lately that users say is too similar to the TikTok format. “We have TikTok for a reason. And let’s face it, the reels that are uploaded are recycled Tiktoks and content that everyone has already seen. What is innovative and unique about old and stolen content? Nothing!”, announces the influencer on Change.org.
The director of Instagram carefully chose reels for his testimony; a likely motivated decision to maintain the format despite criticism. In the video, Mosseri appears in his usual casual style, seated in front and seated on a table. “A lot of things are boiling on Instagram. We’re getting a lot of concerns from all of you, so I wanted to take a moment to clarify a few things.” Among those “things,” Mosseri has alluded to rumors of future changes, insisting that for those who want a full-screen version (or heard about) the UI, it’s just a test aimed at a select few users with the idea of trying a more immersive and fun experience that, as he acknowledges, still has a long way to go , to be good enough Precisely this full-screen interface is one of the features that is most reminiscent of TikTok.
Additionally, the director has referenced what some have recognized as a jump from image (Instagram’s raison d’être since its creation in 2010) to video (TikTok’s raison d’être). “We will continue to support images, it’s part of our heritage, but I’ll be honest: I think Instagram will host more and more videos over time, even if we haven’t changed anything and kept the chronological order. This is perceived by the way the content is consumed and what more users are posting,” he pointed out. However, Illumitati herself explains that as a creator and photographer, she faces an obstacle in achieving the same engagement that takes place in the videos in her images: “It proves frustrating to receive interactions when I post photos.”
Mosseri has also addressed the controversial algorithmic recommendations that so many users find annoying. According to the New York leader, the goal of this feature is for users to discover what they don’t know or that exists, what they can’t achieve in any other way and what might be of interest to them, and he’s recognized that when they don’t like this content fallen, it means Instagram is doing something wrong. However, he also recalled that any user can mark these recommendations as not interesting and even remain silent for a month, claiming that this tool is essential for content creators to reach more people and grow. “We will not be changing some of these features. We need to evolve with the world,” he concluded.
A whole host of users have responded to his statement with the Illumitati “make Instagram Instagram again” and asked him to listen to them. Although he did not address those who alluded to the already famous motto, yes, he has responded to some critics who have predicted an imminent end to the platform or have criticized his explanations (some say so You don’t understand the interactions. or the desired engagement) either by insisting on the explanations already offered or by assuring that they will look into the matter. For his part, Brüning hopes this will lead to a long-awaited change, although he wonders what will come of it.
Less than a week ago The CEO himself had announced plans to make reels the only video format present on Instagram. Previously, it was possible to still upload a video to the profile in the “small” format of the photos, and not necessarily vertically.
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