Manish Chopra, Director and Head of Partnerships, Facebook India, in conversation with Hyderabad Express.
What changes can we expect in the next two years?
Instagram will continue to build for the next generation of young people and creators to ensure that Instagram is the place where culture moves forward.
The new decade, we hear, is all about AI, AR and VR. Can we expect these things integrated in Instagram?
Today Spark AR is one of the largest platforms on Mobile for AR and we are starting to see how expressing freely and sharing through AR filters is becoming an important part of the way people connect across Facebook and Instagram. From designers and artists to animators and developers, Spark AR has enabled people from different dimensions of the creative world to help shape and define this new medium which enables people to convey engaging as well as compelling stories. As the domain continues to grow, we are committed to being a catalyst enabling the growth of this ecosystem.
What does Instagram think it did right during Covid19?
We invested in new tools and products that share credible information and resources on Covid-19, along with ways for people to express themselves. ‘Stay Home’ and ‘Ghar Pe Raho’ stickers: These were launched to encourage people to stay at home, in support of social distancing measures ‘Thank you hour’ and ‘Dhanyavad’ stickers: These were launched to encourage people to express gratitude towards those who’re helping you get you through these tough times. Every day at 7 pm, for an hour, you could see stories of all you follow, who’ve used the sticker, in a multi-author story.
Co-watching: To help people stay connected to the people you love on the app even when social distancing, we’ve launched Co-Watching, a new feature that allows you to view posts together with your friends over video chat.
Updates to Live - the ability to view and comment on Live’s from desktop and to post Live’s to IGTV Health Information: People who search for information related to Covid-19 on the app will start to see an educational message connecting them to resources from the World Health Organization and local health ministries.
Misinformation: We’re removing false claims and conspiracy theories that have been flagged by leading global health organizations. On Instagram, we’ll remove Covid-19 accounts from account recommendations, and we are working to remove some Covid-19 related content from Explore, unless posted by a credible health organization.
Ad Policies: We’ve also banned ads, branded content, and commerce listings selling medical masks, hand sanitizer, surface disinfecting wipes and Covid-19 test kits in ads and commerce listings.
What is the app doing to keep trolling/bullying/body shaming away and make us feel safe and not feel judged?
We recently introduced new controls for creators to manage who can message or add them to groups in Instagram Direct. To inspire conversations among youth all across India and initiate positive online dialogue, we also run programs like the ‘Counter Speech Fellowship’ and ‘Unlabel India’, with the Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC) and Yuvaa respectively. This year we also partnered with CBSE for a curriculum that includes an Instagram’ guide for building healthy digital habits.
Is there a mechanism to ensure that influencers don’t buy followers but stay true to what the real numbers?
Services that offer to boost an account’s popularity via inauthentic likes, comments and followers aren’t allowed as per our Community Guidelines.
How would you sum up Instagram’s ten-year-old journey using five hashtags?
#Love #Expression #Interests #Wellbeing #PushingCultureForward