"Understanding Reels – What It Is, Who Uses It, and What Problem It Solves
What Is Reels?
Reels is Meta’s short-form video platform embedded within Instagram and Facebook, designed to capture the rising demand for snackable video content and compete directly with TikTok and YouTube Shorts. Unlike Stories, which focus on temporary sharing, Reels is designed for entertainment, discoverability, and viral trends, making it a crucial driver for user engagement and creator monetization.
Who Are the"
Saketh reddy S. - "Understanding Reels – What It Is, Who Uses It, and What Problem It Solves
What Is Reels?
Reels is Meta’s short-form video platform embedded within Instagram and Facebook, designed to capture the rising demand for snackable video content and compete directly with TikTok and YouTube Shorts. Unlike Stories, which focus on temporary sharing, Reels is designed for entertainment, discoverability, and viral trends, making it a crucial driver for user engagement and creator monetization.
Who Are the"See full answer
"Context / Goal:
Have we seen this decrease in response time over a while (week/month) or short time (day/hours) - Over the last few months
How is Employer Response time calculated? - Average time from an employee applying for a job to an employer responding - This isn’t accounting for the increase in listings / number of applicants but does it need to?
Was there a change to how response time is calculated? - No
Can job listings be duplicates? - Yes, but not likely
i"
Nikitha G. - "Context / Goal:
Have we seen this decrease in response time over a while (week/month) or short time (day/hours) - Over the last few months
How is Employer Response time calculated? - Average time from an employee applying for a job to an employer responding - This isn’t accounting for the increase in listings / number of applicants but does it need to?
Was there a change to how response time is calculated? - No
Can job listings be duplicates? - Yes, but not likely
i"See full answer
"For Xbox, the next-generation product I propose is a virtual reality headset. The rationale is threefold:
Industry Trends: Competitors like Meta and Apple are investing heavily in VR/AR, signaling strong market potential.
Xbox Legacy: Xbox has a history of pushing innovation in gaming hardware (e.g., Kinect), and VR represents the next frontier beyond traditional consoles.
Strategic Need: With console sales flattening, Xbox must expand into new experiences that deepen engagement and different"
Anonymous Stork - "For Xbox, the next-generation product I propose is a virtual reality headset. The rationale is threefold:
Industry Trends: Competitors like Meta and Apple are investing heavily in VR/AR, signaling strong market potential.
Xbox Legacy: Xbox has a history of pushing innovation in gaming hardware (e.g., Kinect), and VR represents the next frontier beyond traditional consoles.
Strategic Need: With console sales flattening, Xbox must expand into new experiences that deepen engagement and different"See full answer
"First I'd start by asking a few questions/clarifying some assumptions:
This is the existing Facebook Events product where users invite other Facebook users to an event (either IRL or virtual) at a certain time/date, and invitees can RSVP, or react/comment on the event?
Is this question limited to a specific part of the FB product base (e.g. Facebook app vs. web experience) or are we discussing the FB Events product across all platforms?
FB Events have been a key part of Facebook for quite"
Chelsea F. - "First I'd start by asking a few questions/clarifying some assumptions:
This is the existing Facebook Events product where users invite other Facebook users to an event (either IRL or virtual) at a certain time/date, and invitees can RSVP, or react/comment on the event?
Is this question limited to a specific part of the FB product base (e.g. Facebook app vs. web experience) or are we discussing the FB Events product across all platforms?
FB Events have been a key part of Facebook for quite"See full answer
"Approach -
Check the product scope - social network, IG, Whatsapp, etc.
Check how the metric is measured and if there are shortcomings or changes in the approach
Eliminate obvious reasons like seasonality, external events, analytical pipeline changes, etc.
Look for internal product changes or issues
In case the hypothesis falls short, find ways to triangulate the issue
PS - A real interview may not need so many questions to be asked. I am just listing down questions to validate or rej"
Lavesh D. - "Approach -
Check the product scope - social network, IG, Whatsapp, etc.
Check how the metric is measured and if there are shortcomings or changes in the approach
Eliminate obvious reasons like seasonality, external events, analytical pipeline changes, etc.
Look for internal product changes or issues
In case the hypothesis falls short, find ways to triangulate the issue
PS - A real interview may not need so many questions to be asked. I am just listing down questions to validate or rej"See full answer
"Company Mission: Make video communication frictionless
Product: Zoom is a telecommunications tool used by companies and individuals to interact with one another. It has a freemium business model i.e. it provides some basic features to its users for free and premium features for a subscription.
Features:
Video and audio interactions.
Built-in collaboration features.
End-to-end encryption for all meetings.
Recording and transcripts.
Streamlined calendaring.
User Base:
"
R A. - "Company Mission: Make video communication frictionless
Product: Zoom is a telecommunications tool used by companies and individuals to interact with one another. It has a freemium business model i.e. it provides some basic features to its users for free and premium features for a subscription.
Features:
Video and audio interactions.
Built-in collaboration features.
End-to-end encryption for all meetings.
Recording and transcripts.
Streamlined calendaring.
User Base:
"See full answer
"I’ll first set the purpose of Instagram Reels Ads as a product:
Instagram Reels connect to Meta’s mission of building meaningful connections and build community via connecting people through visual storytelling. It’s a popular product with typically Billions of active users. The business model of Meta is largely dependent on ad revenue and Ads on Reels shall primarily be poised to improve revenue for Instagram Reels and in turn Meta, and on secondary notes the upside could be in improving produc"
Arunima S. - "I’ll first set the purpose of Instagram Reels Ads as a product:
Instagram Reels connect to Meta’s mission of building meaningful connections and build community via connecting people through visual storytelling. It’s a popular product with typically Billions of active users. The business model of Meta is largely dependent on ad revenue and Ads on Reels shall primarily be poised to improve revenue for Instagram Reels and in turn Meta, and on secondary notes the upside could be in improving produc"See full answer
"Clarification:
What types of jobs are we targeting? Are we talking about a broad market (like Indeed) or more focused—white-collar (LinkedIn-style) or blue-collar (gigs and tasks)?
Where are we launching the marketplace—U.S. or globally? Let’s assume U.S. for now.
Is this a standalone product or integrated within one of Meta’s existing platforms (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram)? Let’s assume it’s integrated into Facebook.
Overview:
Meta’s Mission: Why would Meta want to launch a"
Kat - "Clarification:
What types of jobs are we targeting? Are we talking about a broad market (like Indeed) or more focused—white-collar (LinkedIn-style) or blue-collar (gigs and tasks)?
Where are we launching the marketplace—U.S. or globally? Let’s assume U.S. for now.
Is this a standalone product or integrated within one of Meta’s existing platforms (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram)? Let’s assume it’s integrated into Facebook.
Overview:
Meta’s Mission: Why would Meta want to launch a"See full answer
"Alright, let's think through this change of moving the 'like' button to a menu under three dots on photos
I'll start by
aligning this change with Facebook's mission,
analyze key insights,
define the product mission for this update,
Identify the eco-system (n-sided marketplace)
Look at the effects on the eco-systems,
Effects on their needs and pain points.
Identify the most important actors and most important actions
Come up with some metrics that we may be using to"
Fahad K. - "Alright, let's think through this change of moving the 'like' button to a menu under three dots on photos
I'll start by
aligning this change with Facebook's mission,
analyze key insights,
define the product mission for this update,
Identify the eco-system (n-sided marketplace)
Look at the effects on the eco-systems,
Effects on their needs and pain points.
Identify the most important actors and most important actions
Come up with some metrics that we may be using to"See full answer
"👇 Your feedback is very much appreciated 👇
👁️ Vision
Empower artists to earn a living through their art while connecting millions of fans to exceptional music experiences. A live streaming feature can humanize the digital experience, making the platform not only a place to stream recorded music but also a stage for real-time, authentic artist-fan interactions.
Enhance Spotify’s artist-first narrative by providing a unique way for artists to monetize their performances.
Leverage Spot"
Julien C. - "👇 Your feedback is very much appreciated 👇
👁️ Vision
Empower artists to earn a living through their art while connecting millions of fans to exceptional music experiences. A live streaming feature can humanize the digital experience, making the platform not only a place to stream recorded music but also a stage for real-time, authentic artist-fan interactions.
Enhance Spotify’s artist-first narrative by providing a unique way for artists to monetize their performances.
Leverage Spot"See full answer
"Clarifying Questions -
Who are we referring to "friends" and "non-friends"? (My assumption is people who we follow and they follow us back are our FRIENDS and people who we just follow, recommendations by Facebook and all other content falls under NON-FRIENDS category, is it right?)
Are we doing it putting a certain success metric in our mind? (Assuming none, just to make people's lives easy)
Let's use a combination of GAME & 4W1H Framework here to evaluate this question
**G"
Pankhuri T. - "Clarifying Questions -
Who are we referring to "friends" and "non-friends"? (My assumption is people who we follow and they follow us back are our FRIENDS and people who we just follow, recommendations by Facebook and all other content falls under NON-FRIENDS category, is it right?)
Are we doing it putting a certain success metric in our mind? (Assuming none, just to make people's lives easy)
Let's use a combination of GAME & 4W1H Framework here to evaluate this question
**G"See full answer
"Product Overview: Instagram, a social network owned by Meta, allows users to create and share various types of content, including photos, videos, and Reels, which are short, TikTok-style videos. The platform serves different user segments, including content creators, viewers, and the platform itself as an ecosystem.
User Segmentation: I segmented users into three primary categories:
Content Creators: This includes businesses, public figures, influencers, and regular users who crea"
Aviran H. - "Product Overview: Instagram, a social network owned by Meta, allows users to create and share various types of content, including photos, videos, and Reels, which are short, TikTok-style videos. The platform serves different user segments, including content creators, viewers, and the platform itself as an ecosystem.
User Segmentation: I segmented users into three primary categories:
Content Creators: This includes businesses, public figures, influencers, and regular users who crea"See full answer
"To answer this question I am going to first clarify the product offering and what ti does, talk about the goals for IG reels for Facebook, go through user actions and then come up with some key metrics to measure success of the product based on the goals.
Product Overview
IG reel allows creators to build short-form video with a bunch of different editing features and post that to their followers or to the broader IG network. It allows regular IG users to create their own content and build"
stash - "To answer this question I am going to first clarify the product offering and what ti does, talk about the goals for IG reels for Facebook, go through user actions and then come up with some key metrics to measure success of the product based on the goals.
Product Overview
IG reel allows creators to build short-form video with a bunch of different editing features and post that to their followers or to the broader IG network. It allows regular IG users to create their own content and build"See full answer
"First
Clarify whether this is for FB general account or business account
Why is removing the profile pic being considered in the first place? Declining conversion rates? TTV(signup to post creation) is perceived as too high wrt competing apps? Meta is considering a single signup for all its apps(FB, Insta, WA) & is looking to optimize the same?
Do we have any supporting data for this? user feedback?
Next
Look at current FB signup flow(assuming these are the steps since its be"
Debajyoti B. - "First
Clarify whether this is for FB general account or business account
Why is removing the profile pic being considered in the first place? Declining conversion rates? TTV(signup to post creation) is perceived as too high wrt competing apps? Meta is considering a single signup for all its apps(FB, Insta, WA) & is looking to optimize the same?
Do we have any supporting data for this? user feedback?
Next
Look at current FB signup flow(assuming these are the steps since its be"See full answer
"Clarify:
I have some clarifying questions I would like to get answered
Is this a podcast app that uses Netflix actors/actresses/producers/etc?
Is this available to everyone or just Netflix subscribers?
How is this product presented? Is it apart of the Netflix app or its own separate app?
Goals:
First thing first is to understand Netflix. Netflix is a streaming platform that differentiates itself by being the first platform that creates its own original content. It is facing massi"
Rasheek N. - "Clarify:
I have some clarifying questions I would like to get answered
Is this a podcast app that uses Netflix actors/actresses/producers/etc?
Is this available to everyone or just Netflix subscribers?
How is this product presented? Is it apart of the Netflix app or its own separate app?
Goals:
First thing first is to understand Netflix. Netflix is a streaming platform that differentiates itself by being the first platform that creates its own original content. It is facing massi"See full answer
"Clarification
I would first try to understand what FB Marketplace is since I haven't really used it more than a few times.
My understanding is the following
Launched 2-3 years ago in the US, it is similar to web classified services such as Craigslist
The sellers are not businesses but rather individuals, primarily in local areas
Broad range of products with no particular focus: ranging from electronics, furniture, used cars to even apartment for rent. Sometimes posters are willin"
Patrick B. - "Clarification
I would first try to understand what FB Marketplace is since I haven't really used it more than a few times.
My understanding is the following
Launched 2-3 years ago in the US, it is similar to web classified services such as Craigslist
The sellers are not businesses but rather individuals, primarily in local areas
Broad range of products with no particular focus: ranging from electronics, furniture, used cars to even apartment for rent. Sometimes posters are willin"See full answer
"Why do we have FB dating? How does it fit within FB's mission of connecting people and building community?
Research shows that lonely people have worse health outcomes, get sick more easily, die faster, etc. There are many ways to solve for loneliness. FB already has Groups which connect people based on shared interests/hobbies. FB also has Messengers and other apps that help you connect with people you already know. Dating is an important way FB can help people form more intimate connections a"
Patrick B. - "Why do we have FB dating? How does it fit within FB's mission of connecting people and building community?
Research shows that lonely people have worse health outcomes, get sick more easily, die faster, etc. There are many ways to solve for loneliness. FB already has Groups which connect people based on shared interests/hobbies. FB also has Messengers and other apps that help you connect with people you already know. Dating is an important way FB can help people form more intimate connections a"See full answer