Facebook’s leadership seems to be taking the adage “Never let a good crisis go to waste” to heart while pushing its Reels offering with Instagram.
This seems to come at an opportune time when all eyes are on TikTok : whether Microsoft’s bid for the social media darling will go through before September 15th deadline set by President Trump.
TikTok, a video-sharing social networking service owned by a Beijing-based Internet technology ByteDance is used to create short music, lip-sync, dance, comedy and talent videos of 3 to 15 seconds, and short looping videos of 3 to 60 seconds. The social platform was launched in 2016 and rapidly gained popularity in East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the United States, Turkey, Russia etc. Thanks to its viral content, and mostly word-of-mouth outreach, TikTok surpassed 1 billion worldwide users worldwide by July 2020.
The story thus far
In July, President Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok in the United States. On Aug 6, 2020, Trump signed two executive orders banning US “transactions” with TikTok and WeChat for 45 days. TikTok was banned by the Government of India since June 2020 along with other Chinese apps after a border dispute with China.
Trump: “We’re looking at TikTok, we may be banning TikTok.” pic.twitter.com/i5WEstwFfS
— The Recount (@therecount) July 31, 2020
That led to a flurry or rumors on TikTok’s fate in the US before Microsoft confirmed in its blog that it was making a bid for the social media platform.
Following a conversation between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Donald J. Trump, Microsoft is prepared to continue discussions to explore a purchase of TikTok in the United States.
Microsoft fully appreciates the importance of addressing the President’s concerns. It is committed to acquiring TikTok subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury.
After Satya Nadella’s appeal, President Trump relented and agreed to give Microsoft 45 days to clinch TikTok deal. According to Reuters “The move represents an about-face for Trump and prompted the U.S. tech giant to declare its interest in the blockbuster social media deal that could further inflame U.S.-China relations.”
While the attention of digital media was focused on Microsoft’s bid for TikTok, Facebook owned Instagram decided to strenghten its Reels offering taking TikTok head on.
TikTok vs Reels
There are distinct similarities between the two video-sharing platforms:
- Reels, like TikTok lets users shoot and edit videos, add music and scroll through a feed of others’ clips.
- Reels has its own version of the ‘For You’ page where users can find the Reels feed on the Instagram Explore Page.
- Users who find a song or audio clip they like can tap the music and select “Use Audio”.
- Creator network. The viral effect of TikTok was partly due to its network of creators who had large followings. Instagram’s also plans to attract diverse set of creators for its own platform. According to WSJ, Instagram is offering money and has approached a diverse range of creators about Reels in its outreach campaign, which began a few weeks ago.
The biggest difference between the two seems to be length of video: Reels videos are limited to 15 seconds while TikTok’s limit is 60 seconds (1 minute).
Instagram’s plan here is not just to siphon users from apps like TikTok, but to expand the reach and keep its billion users engaged right where they are. It could succeed with the prime positioning of Reels in the Instagram app along with the exposure and familiarity that comes with it.
Reel kills TikTok before Trump administration does?
The timing of Instagram’s rollout is certainly intriguing : Reels arrives as the future of TikTok hangs in the balance. According to a writeup in Wired, “TIKTOK’S 15 SECONDS of fame isn’t over yet, but leave it to Instagram to pop up with a notification and divert your attention. If Instagram can conjure the same kind of spontaneous creativity that users have brought to TikTok, it stands to gain more than just the next viral dance challenge.”
Many in the media are closely watching for signs of TikTok creators migrating to Reel. If creators switch to the new platform, a percentage of 100 million TikTok’s American users might follow suit.
It is unlikely that the migration of some TikTok creators and users to Reel alone will kill Microsoft’s bid. However, if it happens en masse, Trump’s threat to ban of TikTok may be moot.
Links
- Introducing Instagram Reels – Blog
- Microsoft to continue discussions on potential TikTok purchase in the United States – Microsoft Blog
- Opinion: What do you think of the forced exit of China’s ByteDance from the U.S. and the transfer of Tik Tok to Microsoft?
- Why Microsoft wants TikTok: Forty-five days to close the deal – The Verge
- Instagram launches Reels, its attempt to keep you off TikTok ‘No two products are exactly alike, and ours are not either’ – The Verge