Instagram’s duo founders have launched a new news-focused app called Artifact, four years after giving up ownership of their previous social media app.
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, on Tuesday, January 31st, announced the unveiling of Artifact, an app that is powered by artificial intelligence and offers a personalised news feed for its users.
Systrom had explained on Twitter that people who want to sample Artifact would need an invitation, although they may presently sign up on a waitlist.
Krieger had also disclosed on his Instagram page that he and Systrom “have been working with a talented team” for no less than a year to launch the service.
According to him, “we’re gradually letting people in as we scale up,” while also hinting about the waitlist to join.
According to a CNET report, the advent of Artifact demonstrates how AI is increasingly influencing how people consume material, particularly news, on social media platforms. TikTok, a popular short-form video app, employs an algorithm to display users’ films that they might be interested in on their “For You” page.
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Casey Newton of Platformer, who interviewed Systrom about Artifact, described it as a “sort of TikTok for text, though you could also call it Google Reader resurrected as a mobile app or even a surprise attack on Twitter.”
However, Systrom informed Newton that the news-based app had additional features, such as a stream of news pieces shared by people you follow, which includes their comments on the article. It also allows users to communicate with friends about current events via private direct messages.
This Is How Artifact Works
The news-based app is more concerned with articles than with photographs or videos.
Users are asked to choose 10 or more topics to tailor their news stream when they sign up. The app, like TikTok, offers a “For You” page and counts how much of an article a user has read. If a user begins reading more interior design stories, for example, the app’s “For You” page displays more of those types of content. The app also contains a “Headlines” section that highlights recent news articles.
This means users of Artifact get a feed of handpicked news pieces from notable media companies down to minor bloggers. Once a user clicks on an article, the app will show related articles as it learns more about the user’s reading habits.
According to Platformer, which was the first to disclose the launch, the app will propose content based on interests and allow for debate with friends. A user’s feed will become increasingly tailored based on what they click on, while a main feed will display popular content from huge media companies down to minor bloggers.
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Systrom And Krieger: From Instagram To Artifact
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger founded Instagram in October 2010 and later sold the photo-sharing app to Facebook for $1 billion in 2012. After less than a decade at the Facebook-owned company, the entrepreneurs quit in September 2018.
The business partners stated publicly that they were excited to rediscover their “creativity and curiosity.” However, rumours surfaced that there were difficulties between the co-founders and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Since their departure, the duo has also developed a website to track the spread of COVID-19 in 2020.
Now in 2023, with the launch of Artifact, they are fully back to take a piece of the pie in the social media world.
Let’s keep fingers crossed to see how well the app will perform in the coming months.