DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

TikTok adds Photo Mode feature which is strangely similar to Instagram

Oct 7, 2022 by Alex Baker Add Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

 

If you’ve been following social media news recently you’d be right to think that the apps have all gone a bit crazy having identity crises. Instagram wants to be TikTok, BeReal and Snap all in one, Snap and YouTube want to be TikTok, and BeReal just sorta wants to be left alone to do its own thing. It’s all so exhausting. And now, in an added twist of multiple personality disorder, TikTok has just added its own Instagram -like feature called Photo Mode.

Photo Mode is, well, what it says on the tin. The update allows TikTok users to share multiple still photos in a post, along with captions of up to 2,200 characters. Photos are displayed in a carousel format, with one image after another. Other users can swipe through the carousel at their own pace.

The new photo posts, which can also feature music, will appear on users’ For You page alongside videos. In a blog post, TikTok says it hopes Photo Mode, combined with the recently-extended character count, will allow creators to “express themselves and more deeply connect with others.”

The Photo Mode honestly seems to function a lot like Instagram’s carousel posts which allow up to 10 images to be swiped through. However, according to Mashable, people are already using it to just recycle content from competing social media accounts such as, yep, Instagram.

This continual homogenisation of social media could signal its demise. If there is nothing that makes any of them different from one another, why would we use them? When dominating users’ time is their main business model I suppose it’s inevitable that they will try to use every trick to hook their users. However, I can’t help thinking that this will be their downfall. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that TikTok is still vastly outpacing Instagram Reels in daily watch time, and a recent secret leak seems to show that Reels engagements are having issues. But this is possibly the first time that TikTok has copied Instagram back.

Could it be because there has been backlash over Instagram becoming more video-centric? YouTube has incorporated a Stories style feature plus short form video fairly successfully. However, it has never moved away from its original premise. And I think that’s the key. It’s one thing to compete and evolve, but quite another when the whole point of the app changes from its original point. Instagram was for stills and now isn’t. TikTok was for short videos and is now doing stills.

Yes, it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the longer term. Ultimately, I think that we are beginning to see that these apps are actually not that great for us to be using for vast quantities. Even for business use most people I know who run small businesses feel obliged to post to all the social apps but see very little return on investment. In other words, most of their clients or customers come from other streams apart from social media.

While the social media apps fight it out for your attention, I think I’ll be using my time in the real world spending time with real people. Instagram et al can copy that if they like!

 

 

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Instagram takes on TikTok with a copycat version of its “Duet” feature Instagram takes on TikTok with Reels, a new feature launching next month instagram reelsInstagram adds new Reels features to look even more like TikTok Instagram rips off TikTok’s Duet feature in Reels

Filed Under: news Tagged With: Instagram, social media, TikTok

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.net

About Alex Baker

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

« The new super rugged SanDisk Pro-G40 SSDs boast 2700MB/sec read and 1900MB/sec read speeds
Watch the first-ever drone video of orcas killing a great white shark »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy