BDB Reads: GameStop Mania, Pinterest’s Story Pins, and Instagram’s Professional Dashboard

This week’s BDB Reads includes Pinterest’s Story Pins on the home screen, how Keith Gill drove the  GameStop Reddit mania, the launch of Instagram’s Professional Dashboard, and head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, saying that he’s not happy with Reels yet.

How Instagram Changed Modelling: the Lies Behind Where the Power Lies

Instagram has transformed modelling, driving down wages and leading to exploitation in a ‘Wild West’ atmosphere, say insiders. This article looks at how Instagram and social media platforms changed the modelling space for, some argue, the worst by forcing models to become influencers before they can become models. 

Instagram Launches Professional Dashboard

Instagram has announced the launch of a new ‘Professional Dashboard’, which is essentially a management overview platform that provides basic performance insight, as well as access to relevant tools to help Instagram creators maximize and monetize their platform presence.

Pinterest Adds Row Of Story Pins To Top Of Its Home Screen

Pinterest introduced Story Pins in beta in September. The publishing option gives creators a way to share more engaging stories with videos, voiceover and image and text overlay. The Story Pins can be saved to boards for later, and are distributed across the home feed, search results and Pinterest’s ‘Today’ tab.

Keith Gill Drove the GameStop Reddit Mania

Mr. Gill posted a screenshot of his brokerage account Wednesday, showing a roughly $20 million daily gain on GameStop shares and options. The article highlights how the use of both Reddit and YouTube were used to spark a frenzy of hundreds of thousands of new “day trader”  investors downloading applications like Robinhood to join the action. Elon Musk also tweeted his support which drove prices even higher.

Head of Instagram Says He’s Not Happy With Reels Yet

During an interview with The Verge’s Decoder podcast, the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, said that although Instagram’s Reels is growing in terms of how much users are sharing and consuming they “have a long way to go” and “have to be honest that TikTok is ahead.”

Mosseri also said that most users don’t know the difference between in-feed Instagram videos and IGTV videos, adding: “That’s probably too nuanced a distinction to resonate with anybody, so we’re looking about how we can — not just with IGTV, but across all of Instagram — simplify and consolidate ideas, because last year we placed a lot of new bets.”

Live Streaming Viewership Doubles Year-Over-Year

Twitch continues to lead the pack in streaming. In Q4, it set yet another record for most hours watched in a quarter with 5.44 billion hours, a 14.76% increase from 4.64 billion hours in Q3.