Instagram plans to kill the trad arr feed, ordered by time. This has caused pure uproar, fear, uncertainty and doubt -- the worry also unleashed a tidal wave of so-called 'celebs' begging fans to 'turn on notifications,' leading to yet more social fail.
[Developing story: Updated 3:02 pm and 1:23 am PT with more comment]
And now we hear of another change the 'gram high-priests are making. Video is becoming more important to the once-photographic platform. Now budding videographers can upload a whole minute of nonsense per post.
What an fantastic palaver. But at the end of the day, it's only a load of oddly-colored photos, people. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers say cheeeese.
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: From fan to POV…
What's the craic? Aunty Beeb reports—Instagram changes cause growing backlash:
The app plans to switch to "algorithmic timelines" - sorting...according to users' interests [not] chronologically. ... The shift will bring the app in line with...Facebook, which is owned by the same company.
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Celebrities including...Kylie Jenner and...Cindy Crawford have in recent days requested their fans turn on their notifications. ... While the movement has grown into a top trend...other users have begun to express their frustration at "annoying" requests. ... An online petition...also emerged, drawing more than 317,000 signatures.
Nobody panic. Kathleen Chaykowski clarifies, urging Everyone Stay Calm:
A number of popular influencers and brands on Instagram...ranging from high-profile models to singers and artists...begged their followers...to turn on notifications. ... Many influencers rely on the...attention of their audience to deliver on deals [that] pay them to promote products and services. [But] some users complained about...so many requests that users turn on notifications.
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Instagram users probably shouldn’t be too concerned. ... The posts users like and comment on will help the algorithm predict the...content they’d like to see. [And] Facebook’s years of experience honing [its] algorithmic feed...should help.
Wise words, indeed. But Nicholas Troy-El Bryant doesn't like it:
I don’t like this change. It was perfectly fine.
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They are probably doing this to get more ad revenue. ... I assume that the "best posts" will be influenced by how much money they...shell out.
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First they constantly fill my feed up with...fugazi sneakers now this. I might be deleting mine soon.
By the way, the change isn't happening for "months" yet. Kellen "kellex" Barranger wants you to Ignore the Jackasses:
Unfortunately, dip****s on Instagram who don’t understand any of this...think Instagram is making this change tomorrow. ... Seriously, look at the hashtag #turnmeon. Over 56,000 people have used it, all of which are under the ridiculous impression that...the world [will] implode on itself during some sort of apocalypse.
Ho hum. Nicholas Deleon blogs Instagram Is Trying to Stop a Global Panic:
Instagram would hardly be the only popular social media platform that uses an algorithmic feed. Facebook...takes into account...what you like, what you share, and what you comment on to determine what items appear. ... Twitter has recently gotten into the act...using an algorithm to determine what tweets appear at the top of your timeline.
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Instagram claims it has “weeks, or even months” of testing ahead. ... In fact, a search of the hashtag “notifications” turns up post after post of people instructing Instagram users to enable notifications.
Update 1: But what are these "notifications" of which you speak? Christina Bonnington is Fact Checking The Instagram 'Turn On Post Notifications' Uproar:
Turning on Post Notifications gives you an alert every time that person posts something. ... Someone posting something like this makes money off of your likes. [So] they want you to see all of their posts. It's kind of a desperate, needy ask — and unnecessary.
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When the new timeline does roll out widely, it would be highly unlikely that Instagram would push it out without an option to switch the change off. ... That would be social suicide.
Update 2: But that's not the only change Instagram is making. Going all Hollywood on us, it's Natalie Jarvey, with Instagram Is Expanding Videos to 60 Seconds:
The company is placing a greater emphasis on...videos. [It's] expanding the length of videos from 15 to 60 seconds. ... Instagram also is bringing back multi-clip videos for iPhone users.
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Jeff Kanter...the product lead for video [said] these updates are just some of several new features in the pipeline. ... Instagram also has begun highlighting videos in its [curated] Explore tab.
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The company says that in the last six months video watch time has grown by 40 percent. ... An increased focus on video follows...parent company Facebook.
And Finally…
Hacking an old fan into a persistence-of-vision display
You have been reading IT Blogwatch by Richi Jennings, who curates the best bloggy bits, finest forums, and weirdest websites… so you don’t have to. Catch the key commentary from around the Web every morning. Hatemail may be directed to @RiCHi or itbw@richi.uk. 
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