Social Media is understood as a Web 2.0 buzzword indicating that the idea of the platform is Collaborative. The Media shouldn’t persevere a passive experience therefore encourage consumers not to just consume but to engage in commentary, to share, to create and produce your own collaborative material also.

Yet why does Social Media posses the option to hide comments, likes etc. if the whole experience should be regarded as SOCIAL!!!???

Instagram has recently released an update that hides the amount of likes a post can receive. Therefore in a business sense consumers can no longer understand the popularity of a brand yet brands owning these accounts can still see the likes they receive and attention but their followers no longer have this common understanding. Shifting the idea of ‘likes’ as a more personal and organic process as consumers now take interest in liking the pictures purely on liking them not based on whats popular in their explore or feed, the experience is natural and more real. However for some brands this idea of Instagram tackling the ‘Insecurity of Social Media’ problem can have an affect on some businesses relying on popularity likes and influencers that are well known names simply for their names such as ‘Kylie Jenner’ etc.  Yet the idea furthermore is seen as confusing as users can still see accounts followings yet not their likes? Will this one day change also?

However although I’ve introduced this thought as a negative impact it will be rewarding for the smaller, underground more niche business accounts on social media. They don’t have to follow a stereotype and reciprocate posts that are regarded popular to gain likes and followers. Brands small which administer this can now have the niche market the always aimed toward grow bigger in number as ‘coolness’ and ‘popularity’ is hidden from the public. So will this take a big hit on accounts with large following, large amount of likes that ‘attempt’ to stay on ‘trend’? Or will they finally embrace and find their voice and grow organically to resume their ‘want and need’ on Social Media?