Streamers rejoice as Instagram finally sets up the necessary framework to allow moderators to be an active part of the live streaming landscape. Live streamers will now have the option to appoint moderators to monitor their streams. Mods will be able to report offensive comments, turn off users’ ability to comment, and even boot users from a stream.
According to Instagram, creators can appoint moderators during a Live stream by hitting the kebab menu in the comments bar. From there, they’ll get a list of suggested moderators, but they’ll also be able to search for specific accounts. As of yet, it’s not clear whether the suggested moderators will be accounts you interact with often or accounts that eventually receive high request rates as moderators and therefore become ‘professional’ mods. It would be interesting if Instagram added a rating system for mods, but it’s most likely going to be a list of users’ friends.
Moderators will likely become an indispensable asset in the Instagram Live landscape, and they’ll have a list of functions their accounts will be able to perform during live streams once listed as a mod. Moderators will be able to moderate and monitor users’ comment interactions and block users’ ability to comment if their comments are deemed offensive to either the mods or creators. Mods will also be able to report comments and boot users’ from streams entirely. This is bound to positively impact how people interact with creators during streams on Instagram Live.
It’s surprising that Instagram has waited this long to introduce the framework for moderation during live streams, given that Live has been a prominent feature and selling point of Instagram since its introduction in 2016. It comes as even more of a surprise when you realize that Instagram’s sister social media giant, Facebook, has already had moderators in place for a long time. The same can be said for gamer live stream staple, Twitch, and YouTube, where comments tend to get nasty if not monitored.
Shock and awe aside, it’s high time Instagram hops on the moderator band-wagon and it’s a good thing they have. We’ll hopefully see a few more updates to this functionality in the future making live streaming an even more enjoyable place for creators and viewers alike. If you feel you’re behind on the platform drama, catch up with how Instagram said goodbye to IGTV.
