Facebook launched Facebook Dating in collaboration with Instagram. However, lately, Facebook has been trying to copy Instagram. The company has introduced many brands and links within Instagram that link back to Facebook. Now, Facebook is testing an in-app Instagram, called Popular photos. This affixes a scroll of selected pictures from friends below the full-screen view of a photo in News Feed. The result is an experience like Instagram but on Facebook.
Popular Photos give users a more relaxed and laid-back browsing experience. It ends the need for clicking on links repeatedly. Instead, the pictures move by themselves, and the user passively sits while watching them.
Facebook’s current text and a heavy link feed system look quite complicated as compared to other visual communication networks, like TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. Users need to do the work and go to each post instead of getting entertained instantly. This kind of experience isn’t satisfactory during short browsing sessions. Moreover, it isn’t a relaxing experience when someone comes home tired from work or school. Previously, Facebook had a dedicated Photos bookmark that lets users browse a specific bookmark. However, it disappeared afterward.
A Facebook spokesperson confirmed a month ago that the company was testing Popular Photos and was eager for this feature to succeed. The trial has finished now, but the team is testing the product and plans to do even more updated tests in the future. However, the company refused to give too many details regarding this new feature. Facebook already has messaging, profiles, stories, and its IGTV-esque Watch video hub. Now, the only thing that differentiates it from Instagram is the absence of a dedicated media feed and the Explore Tab. If Facebook also introduces these two features, it will become a clone of Instagram.
Now let us see how Popular Photos works. When a user finds a photo in Newsfeed, he can click on it to view the full-screen image. Now, when he swipes or scrolls the picture, he goes back to where he originally came from. However, with this new feature, Facebook puts out more images that users can view.
By scrolling down the Popular Photos title, users will be able to see a label called “See More Photos.” This will allow them to keep scrolling through more photos shared by their friends and family. This feature is exactly what Instagram offers. Facebook also truncates the captions after 65 characters so that the stream doesn’t look wordy. Moreover, the black background gives a cinematic feel, and there is more focus on imagery.
Facebook started the “Related Videos” feature in 2014 when the user scrolled through a video that he opened in full-screen. This “More Videos” feature auto-plays the next video, and the user doesn’t need to do anything but watch passively. The feature also shows video advertisements. With Popular Photos, Facebook could insert advertisers’ photos and monetize the browsing.
Facebook has always taken benefit from the acquisition of Instagram. There is also an Open Facebook button on Instagram. Thus, the company is using its secondary platforms to boost the primary platform.
Instagram also tried featuring Facebook alerts in its Notifications tab. Facebook has also tried to use Instagram to drive the traffic back to Facebook. The company also notified users of the app and asked them to like the Facebook pages of people that they follow on Instagram. Now, you can also see Facebook’s new Logo on the Instagram loading screen.
Facebook knows that to keep its leadership in the social media market, it needs to embrace visual communication. It has also mimicked Snapchat in a few ways, like introducing SnapChat Stories. We have seen that Facebook is copying Instagram and introducing an alternative version of feed scrolling. Now, let us see how the Instagram team responds to the direct competition from its parent company.
