iWorld
GUEST ARTICLE: The future of content consumption in India: 2023 trends
Mumbai: Earlier, the patterns of content consumption were not very diverse due to a restricted range of content. With the advent of social media and digital platforms, audiences are now able to engage with both regional & universal content. From watching funny reels on Instagram to binge watching your favourite shows on OTT, content providing mediums have diversified.
As over a billion people will already be having a smartphone by next decade, popular brands all over the world are using visual storytelling as a way of communication. Therefore, it is safe to say that in today’s era of easy internet accessibility and content availability, short-format content shall continue to thrive in 2023.
Rise of video centric storytelling
India has one of the largest audiences for video consumption in the world. Considering it’s important for audiences to get a real life picture of a product and messaging, video is perhaps the most effective tool. Today, over 50 per cent brands have been actively engaging in communication involving the use of visual storytelling as no other medium can subtly engage human senses the same way a video does. Therefore, it is safe to believe that video as a marketing tool won’t leave the digital domain any time soon.
Within the video ecosystem, the audience has parallely consumed content, both shorter and longer in duration. The idea that content shorter in duration is more convenient and comforting seemed correct with the advent of short-form video features, such as Instagram reels.
Evolution of short format content
Due to the launch of digital platforms and content providing applications in the past few years, the content available was huge in amount. This indeed decreased the attention span of the audience, thereby influencing them to engage with short format content for comfort and convenience. With over 50 million users already engaging with short format content, it is for content makers to weave new trends with the use of existing formats preferred by the audience. Considering the dynamic nature of our audiences, it won’t be a surprise if the audience demands the merge of both formats, i.e. long and short format content in 2023, perhaps a series of mobile content.
From a long term perspective, building an intellectual property rather than a standalone short content seems beneficial for both the entities, the content maker as well as the audience. With seven out of yen smartphones having some short video app, it is clear that mobile content is one of the most upcoming trends to look forward to.
The author of this article is Natak Pictures founder Rahul Bhatnagar.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
