1 – INSTAGRAM

“In North East England born and raised
On my smartphone is where I spent most of my days
Hashtaggin’ and sharing my photos wit fools
And snapping some #selfies, pouting all cool
When a couple of #Igers who were snapping their food
Started affecting me and my #instamood
I posted one little comment like ‘hey who cares?’
They said ‘Quit trolling on us cos ya ma’ looks like Cher'”

One of the most popular social media websites/apps is Instagram which combines both social communication  with aesthetic appeal to provide a forum for artistic production of short videos and edited images for over 150 million users.

Registration is quick and easy and as with most smartphone apps it allows you to sync your connections and your Facebook profile meaning that your contact details are ported over along with an image of yourself and contacts who also have Instagram are suggested as potential people to follow.

With your profile created you can view HOME (where your followed contacts shared content is displayed), EXPLORE (where you can search for new content and connections), NEWS (showing what is happening in the world of your connections), PROFILE (just the typical admin section) and most importantly CAMERA (where you can choose an existing photo or snap a brand new one to share with the world… or just your friends).

THE GOOD

• Instagram is a good way to share photos with family and friends;
• It’s also a way to share a bit about yourself with strangers and to show them a bit of the world through your eyes;
• Really easy to use interface will have you sharing in moments;
• Completely free to use;
• It’s much more than sharing images, its also discovering images also;
• Connect with people from around the globe who see the world in very different and interesting ways.

THE BAD

• You need to be careful what you post;
• You don’t want to leave yourself open for rude comments or having your pictures shared on sites;
• Facebook (who own Instagram) have the right to sell any image uploaded to the site without having to pay for the original content