Instagram's frustrated creators

Hi everyone, it's Aisha in San Francisco. Creators think Instagram is releasing all the wrong features. But first...Three things you need to [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hi everyone, it's Aisha in San Francisco. Creators think Instagram is releasing all the wrong features. But first... Three things you need to know today: • Mark Zuckerberg sold [nearly $500 million of Meta stock]( • Cyber exec who spoke to the FBI [will be sent to Russia]( • Amazon video ads are expected to [add $5 billion in sales]( Less is more Instagram likes to release new features, a lot. Over the past year they’ve added avatars, stickers, a new verification program and a bonus program atop dozens of behind-the-scenes algorithm changes. But those new features are failing to get a positive reception from some creators. “There’s so much of a disconnect from the people that run it from the people that are actually using it,” said Joel Bervell, a creator with 259,000 followers on Instagram. Instagram, the main growth driver for Meta Platforms Inc.’s advertising business, needs to constantly add new features to entice people to keep coming back to the app. But for some of the creators with big followings who depend on the platform for their livelihoods, that just adds clutter and confusion, when they’d rather connect with their fans and generate real income. Instagram’s changes to its algorithm over the last couple years to compete with TikTok, which make the app more about an user’s interests than who they follow, have made it even harder for creators to predictably reach their fan bases. [Meta Verified](, for example, a subscription service that offers extras like enhanced support and blue check marks for $15 a month, isn’t popular with creators. “Ninety percent of creators didn’t want to join Meta Verified, they didn’t see any benefits,” said Yesenia Hudson, a creator who has 41,000 followers on Instagram. Creators who worked hard to get verified with blue check marks the old way, by expanding their followers or getting mentioned in the press, are frustrated that others have an easier path. The [Reels Bonus]( program, an incentive system that paid creators money for posting TikTok-like videos on the platform, was also a disappointment. Creators say the payouts were low and promises of making as much as $50,000 never materialized. “No one was making that,” said Maddy Corbin, a creator with 97,000 followers. “It felt calculated. We did not have the opportunity to hit the threshold.” Last spring when Instagram added new features to its program connecting creators with brand sponsorships, that faltered too. “I never heard back from any brands,” Hudson said. “What I heard from other creators is no brands ever reached out.” In the meantime, creators feel Instagram isn’t even getting the basics right, like showing you content from friends and family, helping you grow your audience or being responsive to technical issues. The endless stream of new features is making Instagram unnecessarily [complicated](. And it’s also making the app less good at what it was designed to do: connect people.  —[Aisha Counts](mailto:acounts3@bloomberg.net) The big story This could be the year that US-China tensions finally catch up to Apple. About [19% of the company’s revenue came from the country]( in the last fiscal year. The company’s shares have been [taking a beating this week](. One to watch [Watch the Bloomberg Technology TV analysis]( of the Bitcoin slump. Get fully charged Samsung will place AI at the forefront of its [new phones coming this month](. The US should’ve created its own free tax-filing software instead of [giving tax credits to TurboTax maker Intuit](, according to Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. Intel appointed a Hewlett Packard Enterprise executive to head its [crucial data center and AI group](. Roku released its first [high-end TV sets](. Nikesh Arora, a former SoftBank and Google executive, is now a billionaire after a [huge payday from Palo Alto Networks](. More from Bloomberg Get Bloomberg Tech weeklies in your inbox: - [Cyber Bulletin]( for coverage of the shadow world of hackers and cyber-espionage - [Game On]( for reporting on the video game business - [Power On]( for Apple scoops, consumer tech news and more - [Screentime]( for a front-row seat to the collision of Hollywood and Silicon Valley - [Soundbite]( for reporting on podcasting, the music industry and audio trends - [Q&AI]( for answers to all your questions about AI Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Tech Daily newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](