Talk Social 23rd January 2025: TikTok Is available in the US again and Instagram updates profile grid

TikTok Is available in the US again after Trump’s assurances

On January 19th, TikTok resumed operations in the U.S. following a brief 20-hour ban.

As part of the app's reinstatement, a pop-up appeared crediting Donald Trump’s efforts in lifting the ban. This stemmed from his proposal for a joint venture in which the U.S. would hold a 50% ownership stake in TikTok, addressing national security concerns while promoting economic growth and innovation.

However, despite Trump’s assurances, Apple and Google have refused to reinstate TikTok in their app stores, citing concerns about violating the legal terms outlined in the bill.

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Instagram updates profile grid with vertical-aligned thumbnails

The new Instagram update has included a change in the grid layout of profile feeds. The presentation style will now favour a vertical rectangle as opposed to the traditional square layout.

This is an attempt to align with Reels and TikTok more which Instagram is trying to position itself as a substitute for.

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Instagram officially expands Reels length to three minutes

Instagram has officially announced that users can now create three minute Reels within the app. This is contradictory to the instruction given to creators just a few months ago claiming that posting longer reels hurts distribution.

However, this may be in an attempt to align with its competitors TikTok and Youtube Shorts which both offer three minute videos.

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What is Rednote? Previously unknown Chinese app gains popularity after TikTok ban

A Chinese short-form video app called Xiaohongshu is now the top free app in the Apple App Store. The app, known as RedNote in English, functions like a cross between Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest, and boasts more than 300 million monthly active users.?

Users have taken to RedNote as the long term future of TikTok hangs in the balance.

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LinkedIn turns to comedy

As personal and professional lives continue to blur, the content individuals and companies post on LinkedIn has changed too. Members are shifting to post content which is more lighthearted, humorous or personal. This comes as the app’s popularity is growing rapidly, with LinkedIn’s global memberships tripling in size over the past decade.

However, the head of LinkedIn consumer experience stresses ‘humour is not the end game at all’, and should be used as a ‘means to an end’ on a social network made for people to exchange professional knowledge.

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