Yeah, I’m not sure this will be the win IG is hoping for.
As some users have done noted in the appInstagram is currently testing an update to its profile view that will instead change the “Following” count to “Friends,” the people you mutually follow on the app.
As you can see in there this exampleposted by app researcher Radu Oncescu (in November), the ‘Following’ count was instead changed to ‘Friends’, which shows how many people you have a reciprocal content relationship with in the app.
Instagram confirmed the live test to Business Insider, saying it is currently a small-scale experiment to see how people respond to highlighting friendship relationships.
According to IG:
“Friends are at the heart of the Instagram experience, so we’re exploring ways to make these connections more visible and meaningful.”
And that certainly applies to the modern IG experience. As Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has repeatedly pointed out, most interaction on the app now takes place in DMs, with few people posting to the main feed. As such, sharing with your connections is clearly more important than amplifying your interests and preferences in public, and as such, mutual followers may be a more representative indicator of your engagement.
Although it may not be a better external indicator to include in user profiles.
It all depends on how people use these songs. Some people will search your Follow list to find related profiles they might also want to follow, so as a discovery surface this can be a valuable feature. Switching to mutual following would reduce this, as it could be friends, family members, etc. who are less aligned with the current interest of that profile.
While in most cases the same could be said for the ‘Following’ feed, I think there would be some particularly popular profiles within these lists that impact the broader flow of information for each niche, that people don’t follow back for whatever reason.
And if Business Insider Notesit would also change the dynamics around follower-to-follower ratios, and what that means for perceived popularity and relevance.
If you have more followers than the people you follow back, you look like an influential voice, and that’s based on this view highlighting that variance in the stream. Without this, people might focus on mutual followers, although that feels like a less valuable indicator of fame because it just comes down to who likes you and who likes you back.
But maybe if you had 500 followers, and 400 of them were friends, that would be the new ratio? Then it’s not just about popularity, but relevance to the community, and that might be a healthier benchmark?
I don’t know, but I’m not sure it will have much of an impact either way, and I think “Follow” serves a more valuable discovery purpose.
But then again, IG is changing, and the reasons why people use it are also evolving over time. Perhaps this reflects that shift.
#Instagram #tests #changing #view #Friends