X will now include a Dedicated Video Tab

Here is today’s top trending news from the world of technology and AI.

1)

X will now include a dedicated video tab

Elon Musk’s social media platform ‘X’ (formerly known as ‘Twitter’) has launched a dedicated video tab for users in the United States. The video tab is located in the app’s bottom navigation bar and is represented by a play button icon. The tab essentially provides a centralized space to discover and consume video content within the platform. This move will help X to align and compete with other social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram that prioritize video formats, especially short video formats. But whether this move will lead to long-term user retention remains to be seen as the short video space has become a highly competitive niche.

2)

Instagram Now Allows You to Post Reels Up to 3 Minutes Long

Instagram has now increased the maximum length of Reels videos from 90 seconds to 3 minutes. This news spell good news for content creators who will now enjoy more flexibility and get to share more detailed narrative. It is expected to encourage contents like in-depth tutorials, extended performances, and travel vlogs. This move will help Instagram Reels to compete more efficiently with TikTok, which already allow users to upload 10-minute videos. Instagram too has been testing longer Reels of up to ten minutes with select users, indicating that in future the 10-minute-long reels cannot be ruled out.

3)

President Trump postpones the TikTok ban by at least 75 days

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to delay the enforcement of a TikTok ban for 75 days. This decision comes on his first day in office and follows a tumultuous weekend that saw TikTok temporarily shut down operations in the U.S.  The order pauses the enforcement of a law that mandates TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. operations or face a ban. This law was upheld by the Supreme Court just weeks before Trump’s swearing in ceremony. Trump’s order instructs the Attorney General not to impose fines on app stores and service providers that continue to support TikTok during this period.

4)

Bluesky launches a TikTok-inspired feature called Trending Videos

Bluesky has introduced a new feature called Trending Videos, designed to emulate TikTok’s popular vertical video format. This feature will allow users to discover and engage with short videos in a dedicated section within the app’s Explore tab. Bluesky Users can swipe vertically through a timeline of trending videos, similar to TikTok’s interface. This launch comes at a time when TikTok is facing regulatory challenges in the US. The move also coincides with X launching a dedicated a video tab and Instagram’s decision to increase the length of Reels from 90 seconds to 3 minutes.