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The video player found in the Explore tab will now share the top videos that fit the daily theme, as picked out by the Instagram community team. Part of the inspiration for this is to encourage more people to use the site's video feature. Since it's introduction the video feature has often seemed to not be particularly worthwhile. If people wanted to sit and watch short videos then why not go on Vine, not to mention the fact that a lot of people use Instagram in public with their phone on mute. There's little point in watching a short video if you have to hunt down your earphones. Now though, the Spotlight will show people a slideshow of video clips, giving viewers more to watch and much more of a reason to plug those earphones in or go somewhere quiet.
It'll also give users more of a reason to record video in the first place. Most people still use Instagram purely for photos, but if they want the opportunity to be seen as one of the best and find new followers, then they'll want to record video, and something good at that. This isn't a site to show your clips of someone falling over, but if you have a clip of yourself skateboarding or maybe your pets then who knows the sort of following you might gain.
As this feature isn't for any monetary gain it seems like it's quite simply just a way to keep the platform fresh. Sharing videos and photos on the same platform makes total sense and the new Spotlight feature will allow this to encourage more social interaction. Of course you're more likely to see celebrity and internet famous people's videos to start with but as time goes on the Spotlight could introduce some new users and trends to us all.
Unfortunately this feature is currently only available to US users but I look forward to seeing it rolling out to the rest of the world soon.
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