There’s a new platform in town

Artifact sounds ancient, but it’s futuristic.

Artifact, co-founded by Instagram's creators, is evolving from a news and link aggregator to a full-fledged social network by introducing a feature for users to create posts. The new feature allows users to directly share content, thoughts, reviews, and ideas without needing an external link. Posts will be displayed in the community feed, available to followers and those interested in similar topics, and each post will have a shareable unique URL.

This move positions Artifact to compete with platforms like X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) and Meta’s Threads. Kevin Systrom, Artifact co-founder and CEO, highlighted the importance of machine learning, LLM, and mobile for Artifact's growth and expressed optimism about the potential benefits of AI. It is also rumored that short-form videos will become huge here on chat pages.

How can you use this? We’re always a bit wary of new platforms, but if you teach, train, or provide a service that will educate your audience, this may be a good fit for you. It’s worth exploring and experimenting with.

🎥 What's Trending

With over 5 million views, this 4 minute video takes a very morbid topic (literally) and makes it valuable to its audience by sharing the behind-the-scenes of the set-up of a loved ones’ coffin for their celebration ceremony.

Some things that make this video unique are the subject matter. (Most people would consider mortuary and funeral services to not be ‘fun’ enough for short-form video). The creator also goes into great detail of the process for what happens, driving curiosity and sparking emotions in the viewer. The audience is left with not only more knowledge, but respect for the service provider and how they handle such a tough job.

Your takeaway: With over 12 thousand video saves, this video reminds us not to shy away from a darker or more substantive topic. The finesse is all in your approach and brand voice. People need help and guidance through all facets of life, and since short-form video is now a primary way people are searching for answers, your video could give them the knowledge they need during the harder parts of their journey.