Instagram is embracing short videos, says Adam Mosseri

A creator recently asked me, “Are we going to do long videos on Instagram?” The answer is no and I wanted to explain why.

We do a lot of different things on Instagram, but at the heart of it are two jobs. One: connect you with friends. Two: help you explore your interests, usually through short videos.

It turns out that these two things are symbiotic. You see an amazing video that makes you laugh out loud of a comedian doing a bit, and you send it to someone you know will laugh just as loud as you. Or for me, I see a highlight of an amazing football goal or trick and send it to someone I know who loves football as much as I do. So these things are about connecting with friends through your interests.

It turns out that longfrom video is less symbiotic with these other works. If you watch a 10 or 20 minute video, you will see less content from friends, interact with them less, and be less likely to send that content or video to a friend. So we’re not going after that business because it’s part of our core identity to connect people with friends and we don’t want to undermine that by going after long videos.

We understand that short videos don’t always do this, but they can. We try to prioritize short videos that do this. So let me know below in the comments what you think. I’m sure there will be many interesting takes on this one. Peace.