Instagram is reportedly testing a web version of DMs. This means you can get the thrill of a notification in your Insta inbox even when you're not on your phone.

*gasps*

Could Instagram turn into full-blown SMS? Maybe. But this possible new feature is really part of a larger shift we're seeing away from mindless scrolling and towards private, group-oriented messaging.

We already know Facebook is leanin' into private messaging. Last week the company announced that it plans to unify the backend infrastructure for its messaging suite — WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger — and allow cross-app chat. Facebook also added new management tools and features for groups last week, which includes things like a mentorship feature, formatting for posts and bulleted lists.

And it makes sense. More people reportedly use messaging platforms (4.1B in 2018 across the top 4 messaging apps) than social networks (roughly 3.4B social media MAUs worldwide). Marketers are also taking notice — Giphy CEO Alex Chung has publicly said he thinks brands should advertise in private messages.

So as people shift away from broadcast (RIP The Feed) — where will online communities gather?

We have some ideas (besides Instagram, Facebook, What'sApp, Snap and Twitter):

Telegram is secure, simple instant messaging 💬

Signal is a mobile app for highly secure end-to-end messaging 🔒

Discord is a voice and text chat app designed specifically for gamers 🎮

October is a visual and pseudonymous social network 🙈

Duoshan (created by ByteDance) is an ephemeral video chat app 📹

Squad lets you screen share with friends from a group video chat 👥

Mighty Networks is a platform for people to gather around niche interests 🙌

Islands is Slack for college 🌴

NextDoor is a social app that lets you connect with your neighbors 🏠

Peach lets you share what you feel, think, see and hear with friends. Yes, it's still alive! 🍑

In this week's episode of Product Hunt Radio, DEV founder Ben Halpern joins us to chat about:

🙌 Why you need to lead by example building online communities
🏠 WFH and being honest with yourself about taking breaks as a founder
👀 his predictions for future trends on the web

Listen now and big thanks to our sponsor AngelList and FreshBooksfor their support. 😸