Short formats are no longer the norm on community platforms. On January 30, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri announced the deployment of Notes on the social network throughout Europe, the United Kingdom and Japan. This new format makes it possible to write longer texts than before, up to 60 characters. These Notes are only available for 24 hours, like Stories. Once posted, Notes are visible in Mail, in a new section above Private Messages. Subscribers can react to Notes by sending messages that will end up in DMs (private messages).
It was in a video that Adam Mosseri explained the launch of this new option in other markets, after having tested it in Asia, as well as in North and South America: “Sometimes when we release a new feature, we only release it to a small percentage of people, or only in a specific country. It is then a question of carrying out tests, of making sure that it works well, that it is well received before launching it everywhere else. And sometimes, in Notes’ case, we launch something wherever we can, but have to hold back in a few countries if there’s more work to do to comply with local regulations, which can be more onerous. And this has been the case for Notes in Europe and Japan“, he explained in front of the camera.
A format that appeals to teenagers
A decision motivated by positive feedback, if we are to believe the rest of his remarks: “Notes has done very well in Asia, North America and Latin America, especially with teenagers, so we can’t wait to see how Notes will be received in the rest of the world.“, added Adam Mosseri in his video posted on his Instagram account.
If this new format seems familiar, it is partly due to a practically similar option developed by Twitter and bearing the same name. Twitter Notes also make it possible to write longer texts that promote exchanges between social users. Also launched in test mode for the moment, the Notes on Twitter are much longer, since they can contain up to 2500 words with a title of up to 100 characters. If these Notes are not limited in time, the social network with the blue bird nevertheless underlined that the goal was not to favor long content. “The goal of the tool we’re testing is to provide authors with an experience that complements Tweets on Twitter“, can we read on the official blog.
For the moment, not all Twitter users have access to this new option. However, it may appear in preview as Notes cards on users’ news feeds if they are tweeted, retweeted or quoted by a followed account. A positive point is the possibility of accessing a Note thanks to its URL, even without having a Twitter account.
