Will Reels, Instagram’s TikTok, work?

TikTok is less a pure social network, the type focused on social capital, than an entertainment network. I don’t socialize with people on TikTok, I barely know any of them. It consists of a network of people connected to each other, but they are connected for a distinct reason, for creators to reach viewers with their short videos.

the most important new social networks of the last few years have been notable for not really being social networks at all.

I’m referring to the TikTok-ization of user-generated content: the reason why TikTok was such a blindspot for Facebook is that, unlike Snapchat, it doesn’t depend on network effects, but rather abundance.

Now, the question is whether Instagram should replace their default view with a “full screen video experience” that would basically complete their transition into a wholesale TikTok clone.

Now compare that with a service that’s not only a video hosting platform, but simultaneously a video creation platform: TikTok. For creators, TikTok is incredibly differentiated because their videos can only be created on TikTok through their creation tools.