I am not ashamed to admit I am slightly addicted to Instagram which actually makes a nice
change for me as in the past it was all about Facebook, followed closely by Twitter
and Pinterest. I feel, along with Pinterest, Instagram is one of the more
positive social media platforms, or it is at least when you follow the type of
people I do (lifestyle, wellbeing, dogs!) so I don't mind being an addict!
I wanted to
write a review of the app, I know Instagram (owned by Facebook) isn't new, it's
been around since 2010 and there are 150 million active users all over the
world, but, it's relatively new for me and will be unknown to many others!
Instagram
allows you to create a profile and follow users in a similar way to Twitter.
You can then upload or take images which are editable through the app with
photography features such as filters, blurs and changeable light gradients. You
can add a caption to sit with the photo, similar to the way you would on
Facebook with hashtags being important on Instagram to categorise your images
and make them easily searchable. The photography features make any photo look a
million times better (trust me, I know!) and once posted it gets added to your
profile and will appear in your followers feeds.
It's a really
simple app to use and I think it's because of that simplicity, people love it.
The interface has a handy menu at the bottom with five options; home (similar
to a newsfeed), explore, upload, see notifications and view and edit your
profile.
Explore allows
you to search for other users to follow and discover new images from a feed
that is automatically updated by Instagram.
Upload is
exactly what you expect but what's nice is if you haven't got the photo you
want to upload on your camera roll, you can easily take a snapshot and edit it
straight from the app without losing any quality. It's also the place you can then
go on to edit and caption your images.
Profile gives
you a live preview of your Instagram profile and it's the area you can make
amends to your profile too. You have a handle on Instagram, mine is janelw171, your real name (should you wish), a small bio, profile picture and one
external link.
In terms of the
social aspect of Instagram, I enjoy keeping up with my friends but also love
getting inspired every day by those Instagrammers I have never met and choose
to follow. I do find the following aspect could be improved as it's very easy
to 'like' a photo but a longer process to follow someone. Although, it's great
to find likes from people who have discovered your photo through one of the
hashtags you've used in your caption rather than following you.
A little tip -
follow people with caution as, unlike Twitter where skimming through the
newsfeed sometimes without even taking any of the tweets in is easy, the
newsfeed on Instagram is much more overpowering so I only want people I have a
real interest in filling it!
Obviously
Instagram is very visual which means, if you follow the right people, it's nice
to check into the app to see some fun, inspiring images to brighten up your
day! I do see it more as a place for mobile snapshots so use my Pinterest account for sharing less original or personal images.
Here's a few of
my favourite Instagram photos...
Score: 8/10
I love... the
simplicity of the app, the app icon and the filters (especially useful if you
are no David Bailey like me!)
I'd like to...
see it be easier for people to follow people as, although liking a photo is
simple, to follow someone it's a longer process
Hope to see you
on Instagram soon but be warned, it's addictive! In the meantime check out my 'A Beautiful Mess' photo challenges here - I'm having so much fun completing them!
Jane x
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