Dave Cunningham
On a daily basis, short-form videos called “Stories” have taken most hours of the day––either you watch or create it, social apps in Snapchat and Instagram have revolutionized the feature. Netflix, on the other hand, has further cultivated the concept and is looking to transform it into a full-screen vertical video inspired by the biggest social app to date, TikTok.
This experiment is called “Fast Laughs,” and the streaming giant is offering a new way to enjoy comedy clips in short intervals from their libraries.
According to Netflix, the feed includes clips from both its original and licensed shows. Basically, what Netflix is getting at here is that the feature is like a shorter, much more compact version of “Netflix Is A Joke” from YouTube wherein the channel uploads longer comedic videos.
The feature resembles that of TikTok’s where the feed goes vertically instead of swiping horizontally like Instagram’s stories. The streaming giant has also placed the engagement buttons on the right side. However, just like any of Netflix’s experiments, the overall goal of the feature is to guide audiences into a whole new world where they can watch something new.
To add to that, stories encourage personal interaction like commenting and reacting––”Fast Laughs” encourages the users to add comedic shows to their watch list. Essentially, it’s a more fun and interactive “Previews” feature if you think about it.
Here’s a preview of the feature as explained by Twitter user, @MattNavarra.
Here’s the full intro explaining this new Netflix feature… pic.twitter.com/T7OriLUHd8
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) November 12, 2020
Only recently was the feature available to a limited number of adult users on iOS devices in the United Kingdom, the United States, and other Netflix-selected regions.
“We’re always looking for new ways to improve the Netflix experience,” a Netflix spokesperson said.
“A lot of our members love comedy so we thought this would be an exciting new way to help them discover new shows and enjoy classic scenes. We experiment with these types of tests in different countries and for different periods of time — and only make them broadly available if people find them useful,” they added.
