No formal study has been made yet, but of the millions of iPhone users (and now Android users have joined in), it can be assumed that a majority, probably more than 70% use the app known as Instagram. A student from Cambridge has already done a dissertation related to Instagram and the phenomenon that had emerged from it. There are probably more students in other colleges and universities who are in the process or conducting surveys or already analyzing data, but we do not have access to the results just yet.
Instagram is still a very personal app, and it is not yet an established platform for online marketing, but companies are already exploring the possibilities. Who knows, maybe the next marketing revolution will be via Instagram? But even companies that are keen on using any and every tactic for branding purposes cannot resist the prospect of using more than one enhancement for each photo that give Instagram pictures that characteristic ‘ambience.’
The Instagrammer
A certified Instagrammer will probably find one or two days without Instagram too much to bear. If you could not resist stopping on the sidewalk, getting your iPhone or any smartphone for that matter (most probably, you’re holding it already) and pointing it to a park bench or a puffy cloud to capture the moment, then you’re probably on your way to becoming an Instagrammer.
How will you know if you are already an Instagram junkie? The answer to that is another question. Do you need a certain number of likes to feel validated? Every Instagrammer, regardless of race, profession, body type, age, and sexual orientation seems to revel in the positive reinforcement. That’s what likes are, when you get to the bottom of it. If you think that the likes are not coming because of the particular filter that you used, then you’re probably in it way too deep already.
Here are other indicators. Does your face drop when there are no comments (not yet, probably) on your latest post? Will you delete the app from your phone and after having done so courageously will you be able to resist the urge to check your home screen only to realize that the icon you are looking for is no longer there?
Instagram – an instant work of art
Instagram is a photo sharing app that has revolutionized the means by which people share photos with their family, friends, and co-workers. It has also redefined photography in many ways that we will not explore here. Instagram may just be one of the thousands of apps that smartphone users can avail of, but it is also a magic wand that turns any regular photo into a singular work of art.
Instagram photos may be roughly classified under the following categories: food on a plate, remnants or sections of meals, sunsets, random urban landscapes, antique and/or rustic furniture, antique and/or rustic scenery, cats (more than dogs, for sure), body parts and profiles (rarely the full human anatomy), for starters.
Instagram gives every smartphone owner the chance to capture moments that they “see” and share them instantly with people they care about and others who might end up caring just the same. Who wouldn’t want to have such a tool? People who acquire this tool use it at every opportunity especially now that the platforms for sharing are limitless. Millions of people see the photos, and the audience is often generous with their praise.