● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportLow impact1 neutral
Vertical Video Dominance: How Social Platforms Adopted the Format
Key points
- Smartphones drove the adoption of vertical content.
- Snapchat's Stories feature popularized vertical video.
- Instagram, LinkedIn, and Tinder copied the Stories format.
- Video became the dominant medium in ephemeral content.
The Shift to Vertical Content
Initially, social media platforms had distinct identities, with YouTube focusing on long-form videos, Instagram on photos, and Facebook on social connections. However, the proliferation of smartphones, designed for upright holding, began to influence content creation. Users naturally created vertical content, such as selfies, that better fit the device's screen orientation.
Snapchat's Innovation with Stories
Snapchat was an early adopter of the vertical format with its 'Stories' feature, launched in late 2013. This feature allowed users to share ephemeral content, quickly gaining popularity and becoming Snapchat's most used feature by mid-2014. Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel described it as a new way to share daily experiences with friends.
Widespread Adoption and Copying
The success of Snapchat's Stories led to its widespread adoption across other platforms. Instagram notably copied the feature in August 2016, with its then-CEO Kevin Systrom acknowledging Snapchat's pioneering role. The 'Stories' format subsequently appeared on platforms like LinkedIn, Tinder, and Medium, indicating its broad acceptance as a content sharing method. As camera technology and upload speeds improved, video became the primary medium within these ephemeral story formats.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
The daily brief
One email each morning: the day's tech stories, clustered across outlets and summarized. No account needed.
One email a day. Unsubscribe in one click, any time.
Today's brief
Spend a few minutes, get the whole day. Every topic's top stories in one hands-free rundown — listen, watch, or read the transcript.
▶ Play today's brief
New every morning, and the back catalogue is archived by date.
Reporting from
The article discusses the rise of vertical video across major social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. This shift is attributed to the widespread adoption of smartphones, which are primarily held upright, influencing content creation and consumption habits.