Online photo sharing and social networking service Instagram announced this week that it would begin using an algorithm to filter results on its news feed. The social network has grown in popularity recently and it is expected to grow by 15.1% this year. This growth makes it increasingly difficult for some users to see the posts they may care about, as the news feed can often become clogged up with the most recent – though not always the most relevant – posts. With the new algorithm, you’ll be seeing your best friend’s super-cute cat photo before you see the double latte your annoying co-worker just ordered at the coffee shop.
In this edition of the weekly wrap, we will examine the implications and user reaction to Instagram’s latest change.
With the algorithm, the order of photos and videos in feeds will be based on the likelihood the user is interested in the content and their relationship to the person posting, as well as the timeliness of the post. So, all the posts users are accustomed to viewing will still be there – they will just be in a different order. As often happens with large-scale changes in social networks, many users are less than pleased, saying they favor timeliness just as much, if not more, than relevance.
Social networks are always concerned about finding new ways to engage users – Facebook (Instagram’s parent company) made a similar change to its news feed algorithms several years ago. While this change irked some users as well, the dust eventually settled once people grew more accustomed to the new format. The change also comes intertwined with Instagram’s efforts to increase its use of commercial messages.
Instagram now joins the other social media giants in using an algorithm that stresses relevance over timeliness. The change comes just a month after Twitter sparked a backlash (remember #RIPTwitter?) when it changed its algorithm so users would see the “best” tweets as opposed to the most recent ones. Instagram has actually surpassed Twitter in terms of user numbers, boasting more than 400 million in 2015. It’s worth noting that, if successful, Instagram’s new algorithm may cause users to stay logged in a bit longer, increasing the potential for advertisers to profit.
Do you support Instagram’s new algorithm change? Let us know in the comments below.
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Sam Bojarski is an associate at WordWrite Communications. He can be reached at sam.bojarski@wordwritepr.com.
