If you've read the title and you're completely confused as to what IGTV is, it's okay it only launched a couple of days ago. IGTV is a new app created by Instagram for watching long-form, vertical video from Instagram creators. Yes you read that right, vertical video.
Instagram points out that IGTV is different in a few ways, firstly it's built for how you actually use your phone - this is touching on the whole vertical thing, so videos are full screen and vertical. Secondly, IGTV allows videos longer than one minute (this is currently what Instagram Stories only allows) and each video can be up to an hour long.
Although it is a separate app you can access IGTV from Instagram, it sits right up the top next to your messages.
So here are some of my thoughts after looking through the app for really only over a day.
- Vertical video? I don't get it. As someone who has studied photography and touched on videography, it is strange to film in portrait mode. Landscape allows you to see so much more. I understand when you take quick little videos on your phone of your dogs or of a new place you visited, but do people really want to watch hour long videos in essentially portrait mode? I'm not a fan - maybe one day I will be.
- What sort of content should be on here? I don't know yet and either does a lot of others by the looks of it.
- Did we really need another social media app to look at? I don't know about you guys but it's hard enough trying to keep up with Twitter, normal Instagram, Instagram Stories, Facebook and YouTube! Sure, I don't need to look at them all but I like too and now I feel like this is another thing I have to check.
- It looks a lot like Snapchat. You remember Snapchat right? I know some people still use it but really Instagram Stories took over it's dominance. But cast your minds back to the 'Discover' section of Snapchat, that is what it looks like to me.
- Finally, Instagram we never asked for IGTV but we have been asking for our Instagram feed to go back to chronological order so how about you do that?
Essentially this is Instagram taking on YouTube and right now I don't see how it will win. I liked Instagram just being about photos and I feel like Instagram is trying to be everything at once. Who knows it may take off or it may flop. As of right now I'm thinking it won't make any difference to YouTube and unless they change the whole vertical thing I see myself being annoyed with it.
Anyway, I just wanted to get my thoughts out onto my blog as new social media apps really interest me and I also work in social media so there's that. In saying all this you bet I uploaded a video to IGTV hours after it launched. I really only added a video I already have on YouTube but adjusted it to be vertical as I wanted to see what it would look like. You can find me at @mcali187 #shamelessplug.
For me I think IGTV will be a place I upload small edited clips from my travels - whether that be overseas or not. I don't picture myself using it for sit down videos or talking videos, but who knows that might change.
So let me know below, what are your thoughts? Do you like it? Will you use it? What sort of content do you want to see creators making for IGTV? I'm interested to know.
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