Instagram’s Identity Crisis (and a Case for Just Posting Photos)
I’m going to be very honest here: many legacy brands still don’t understand TikTok.
They try. They repurpose.
They chase trends weeks too late (so does Instagram as a whole… but we’ll get to that in a bit).
But TikTok doesn’t usually reward polish in that way. It rewards presence and authenticity. You have to move fast, be a little messy (while still maintaining good lighting and high-quality content), and genuinely understand the tone of the platform.
That’s challenging to do when your content must undergo six layers of approval and a brand safety review. I would even argue that most of these companies were built for billboards, not necessarily ‘For You’ pages.
And while they’re fumbling to keep up, Meta’s still trying to catch lightning in a bottle. First by stuffing Reels into Instagram in 2020, and now (reportedly) toying with the idea of spinning Reels off into its own app.
Yes.
According to internal reports, the initiative, nicknamed “Project Ray,” would create a standalone platform for Reels, designed to support longer videos (up to 3 minutes) and enhance content recommendations. On paper, it’s a smart move to compete more directly with TikTok, especially with the ongoing uncertainty about whether TikTok will get banned in the U.S.
But timing will be everything.
Launch too early, and it’ll feel like a copy.
Launch too late, and the culture will have already passed it by.
Instagram Threads: A Cautionary Tale
Ahhhh yes. Threads.
Meta’s big swing at a Twitter alternative launched with wild momentum. It had over 100 million sign-ups in just a few days.
For a second, it actually felt fun.
People were saying it was like the TikTok comment section - chaotic, funny, unserious in the best way. It somewhat captured that early-stage chaos where nothing's curated and everyone’s just figuring it out, which made it even better.
But about three weeks in… the energy quickly shifted. Threads didn’t build culture. It only built for a launch day.
Threads quickly appeared in mid-Elon Twitter/X chaos, hoping to capitalize on the spillover. Threads ended up feeling half-baked once the dust settled.
People stopped going to Threads (even though it was integrated into Instagram and still is). The feed got quiet. Brands didn’t know what voice to use. Creators ran out of steam. And pretty quickly, Threads started to feel like a digital graveyard - technically alive, but kind of awkward to scroll through. I would compare it to walking into a party that ended hours ago, but the music’s still playing and the lights are on.
Meta’s had success “copying” before.
They took Stories from Snapchat and made it work. Videos borrowed from Vine’s DNA and stuck around. But TikTok’s a different beast and a different algorithm.
It’s not just a format you can replicate. It’s a culture.
And that’s a lot harder to clone. Especially when you’ve spent years quietly benefiting from the calls to shut it down (Senator, I’m from Singapore).
The Threads rollout showed what happens when Meta tries to fast-track the community. You can’t manufacture culture. You can’t fake momentum. You can’t shortcut your way into relevance, even with 100 million sign-ups.
If Meta wants a standalone Reels app to work, they’re going to have to let it breathe. Let users shape it. And maybe, this time, not launch it before it actually has something to say.
Instagram Is Still in Limbo
Instagram’s been in a weird place for years now. It tried to be everything at once. It was a mix of photos and videos, friends and strangers, community and discovery. Being “everything,” it ultimately lost its grip on all of it.
Reels took over the feed. Photos became secondary. And the people who once shared casually stopped posting altogether because it suddenly felt like nothing was "performing". People stopped seeing their friends on Instagram unless it was in Stories.
Now, Meta is considering a separate Reels app. Could it work? Maybe! Especially if TikTok actually gets banned in the U.S. However, if TikTok remains, a Reels app is just another duplicate that will struggle to find its own identity.
And unless it launches with a significantly improved algorithm and its own culture (like the Insta we used to have!), no one will switch.
Or… Maybe We Just Miss Photos
People have been talking for a while now about how much we miss having a space just for photos! If Instagram gave Reels its own home and returned to its roots, it might finally feel like Instagram again. But the shopping push is still strong, and TikTok’s not exactly innocent either.
But even still, let’s take it back for a second. Remember when people would upload 40-photo Facebook albums from one night out? That wasn’t just nostalgia. That was a connection. A way of saying, “Hey, this is my life. These are my friends.”
Then Instagram took that vibe and made it cooler… until it didn’t.
Until everything was curated, branded, and worth posting, then TikTok came along and swung the pendulum back - authenticity over aesthetics. And it was so needed.
But TikTok isn’t really where you keep up with your friends. It’s where you discover new things. You don’t see your cousin’s trip or your best friend’s birthday party unless they go viral (which… they likely won’t. Sorry!).
There’s no real space to share your life anymore. What if you don’t want to go viral or become a creator? In theory, Instagram returning to what it was could actually be a good thing.
So What Now?
Until the platforms figure it out, we continue to make our own space. We bring back the photo dump (we ARE allowed 20 pictures/ videos in a carousel now on Instagram).
We stop overthinking the feed.
We share because we want to, not because we’re chasing reach.
And if Meta’s listening: instead of chasing TikTok’s format, maybe try building something for the people who actually miss each other.
P.S. If you're a brand or small business still trying to navigate all of this. Not sure what to post, where to show up, how to build something that actually resonates, we do this every day at The Boutique COO.
