Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the news on his Instagram account Thursday by creating a channel of his own. The idea is to offer another way to share posts without having to put them in a main Instagram feed that is sure to have everything.
“I started this channel to share news and updates about all the products and technology we are creating at Meta”, wrote. “This will be the place where I will share first-hand news about Meta products.”
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Meta is introducing the new feature as a tool for content creators to more directly reach the people who want to see their updates. As the company’s competition with video app TikTok (Instagram has a rival product called Reels) intensifies, it has adapted its algorithm to show people more content about their interests.
But that led to complaints that users don’t see enough posts from the people they actually follow. Channels can offer another way for creators to reach their audience directly without relying solely on the Instagram algorithm.
Instagram has arguably become Meta’s most important service in recent years. Not only is it the company’s best bet against TikTok, but Instagram is a major revenue generator and is responsible for much of Meta’s business growth. That role is even more important given the company’s broader focus on creating the so-called metaverse, which has been an expensive project.
The launch of the channels also comes at an important time for Meta. Zuckerberg recently said that 2023 was going to be the “year of efficiency” and indicated that he was going to lay off some middle managers and better prioritize efforts on products to help the company move faster. Earlier this week, he shut down a live shopping feature for “focus on products and features that provide the most value.”
The channels feature will eventually come to Meta’s Messenger and Facebook services, Zuckerberg said.
