1 Billion Mark for Instagram & What's IGTV?

?? Instagram has just reached 1,000,000,000 active users. The announcement came during an event hosted by Instagram's chief Kevin Systrom in San Francisco. Simultaneously there were 'party' events in different parts of the world such as the one in London which celebrated and introduced IGTV to celebs, influencers & creators.

IGTV & How It Works? 

Instagram TV (IGTV) will let users upload videos through Instagrams App as well as from its very own dedicated app on the App Store (download it, you won't regret it). 

[Instagram]

Whether you're Kim Kardashian or just simply like videoing yourself putting on makeup, anyone and everyone is a creator. Everyone will be able to upload 1 minute up to hour-long videos onto the channel. However, it's not currently available to everyone at the moment, Instagram said that IGTV will be "rolling out globally over the next few weeks on Android and iOS". 

It seems to only be available to some users right now, with a huge push amongst Influencers, brands, and channels such as Vice, NatGeo, Nike etc. Everyone that you expect has gravitated to the world of social media is probably already on there. 

[Instagram]

What does this mean for the world of digital? 

Vertical media is here to stay - Turn your phone portrait and leave it there... ??

IGTV is built around for how you actually use your phone: vertical and full screen. Edge to edge displays and phone screens slightly expanding in size every year, we still prefer and naturally use them portrait. 

But does this limit the beauty of landscapes, video content and users engagement? Yes and no, although the platform is trying to compete against the likes of Youtube & Netflix for long duration video content it's still a social platform. Built upon Snapchat's USP the user is ultimately lost in the world of screen, with the advantage of swiping, commenting and sharing the videos still with the very use of a single hand. 

Ever tried watching a video and flicking between WhatsApp landscape? No, I didn't think so either. It's more of a skill acquired by ambidextrous individuals or someone who's got 6 fingers. 

Ultimately it just helps us creators, editors or directors to know what to plan in the terms of media. Especially if it looks like a real contender against Youtube.  

Video, Video, Video 

Before I begin it's something that's been said amongst professionals for a while and is being reiterated amongst the industry for a while now. I highlighted the power of video in one of my other articles back in 2016 (have a quick nosy - Video Is King)  

Video format will be the majority of content consumed. I recently attended London Tech Week -Future of the Workplace which displayed trends of how video content will affect directly our audiences and users.

Here are some stats to chew on: 

- One-third of online activity is spent watching video

- The 25-34 (millennial) age group watches the most online videos and men spend 40% more time watching videos on the internet than women

- 82% of Twitter users watch video content on Twitter

- By 2019, internet video traffic will account for 80% of all consumer Internet traffic.

[Stats - May 2018 - WordStream]

What are your thoughts on the platform, do you love it or hate it? Are you ready for video content, would love to hear your views. Like, comment, share below ????