Today, we see leading applications borrowing functions from each other to keep the user’s attention for even a few minutes. For example, Netflix previously introduced the Stories feature, which previously appeared on the social apps Snapchat and Instagram. The main difference is that Netflix uses this feature to preview videos posted on the resource.
The company, inspired by the popularity of TikTok, is planning to implement full-screen vertical video streaming. As part of testing, Netflix offers comedy short videos as part of Fast Laughs. In reality, these videos will also serve as previews for full comedy videos and catalog shows.
The concept is similar to how clips, long videos, and other social content are posted today on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Netflix plans to include videos from the existing social channel “Netflix Is A Joke”, and you will be able to see both original videos and licensed programs.
Fast Laughs is similar in format to TikTok. There is also a vertical video feed that can be scrolled through like in other applications and interaction buttons on the right side. The main difference between this format is that it is not just a place where you can kill time. The purpose of this feed is to help users discover something new to watch and what they liked to keep for later viewing. In a sense, it is a complementary tool to Netflix’s Preview feature, which helps users find shows by browsing clips and trailers from popular and recently released programs.
The Fast Laughs feed will contain all possible comedy videos ranging from 15 to 45 seconds long.
In addition to adding clips to Netflix’s My List, users can also respond to videos with laughing emojis, share the music video with friends on social media, or click the More button to view similar content.
Here’s the full intro explaining this new Netflix feature… pic.twitter.com/T7OriLUHd8
— Matt Navarra (I quit X. Follow me on Threads) (@MattNavarra) November 12, 2020
This feature was first noticed by social media consultant Matt Navarra from the UK. In his app, Fast Laughs appeared before the preview line, where it was presented with the text “New!”
As of today, “New” is only available to a subset of Netflix users. This audience has an adult user profile that is not tied to any restrictions (parental controls, for example) and is an iOS device user.
In the case of Fast Laughs, Netflix used a good strategy, as users might see slightly different versions of the same feature. What helps to get feedback for these versions and determine the most suitable for the audience.
TikTok has burst into the social media marketplace and is now a source of inspiration for many companies. Today we see giants like Instagram, Snapchat, and Netflix implement solutions on their platforms to compete with TikTok.
It’s worth noting that Netflix is not a direct competitor to TikTok only if we consider that competition among applications is growing every day. Every company is willing to spend millions of dollars to grab the attention of users and motivate them to stay in the app for as long as possible.
If you have an idea for a new social network that can attract a fair share of users, you should not put development on the sidelines. As you can see, while passions raged around TikTok in the United States, many companies took advantage of this and gained additional audience and profit. But remember that when deciding to develop a social application, it is essential to choose the right software company. It is imperative to go through the discovery development phase to get the right product concept first and then a detailed development plan.