UKC

Hello! 
Right, this is not one of those "holier than thou" posts like all the "I don't have a television" ones. 
This is more "I feel old and out of touch and behind"

I recently set up an Instagram account mainly because one of my favourite bands said they are going to be more active on there than on Facebook and I wanted to keep up. 

I've put nothing on my profile, really. 

After several weeks, I am baffled by the whole thing. When it first started up, I understood that it was a quick way to share photographs and receive comments. 

As it grew and more and more people were migrating toward it as their main social media platform, I assumed it had changed. 

But from what I can see, it is exactly as it originally was - you have to post a picture with any new "status update" and then it seems that everyone has to post really brief super-positive generic comments, and that's all there is to it!

Am I missing something?! 

Thanks

 

Not sure, but I couldn't get on with it. The fact that you can only post photos from your phone seemed bizarre. To me it is like on a par with Twitter which I also 'don't get, bothe seem pretty pointless really,

Chris

I found out today that I have had a Twitter account for 4.5 years! I have no recollection of having set it up and can't imagine where I came up with the DisplayName for it. 

I settled happily on Facebook many years ago, it's a platform I can get on with, it makes sense. 

I avoided going down the route of more new shiny things like Google Wave or Circle or whatever it was, and Instagram and Twitter, as it was all too much. 

I went on Twitter today because there was a "listening party" which is a quite thing, Tim Burgess of The Charlatans has set some up, basically when they happen, an artist interacts as you all play a certain album at home, and interjects with comments and you all join in. First time I've ever posted anything on there. It was surprisingly effective and good fun. 

No offense but you and I are not the right generation or type of person for Instagram.  It is for selfies and duck pouts and visiting museums to find a good place to take a photo without actually looking at any of the exhibits.  Its for showing off perfect pictures of imperfect lives and it is superficial and fake.  

I signed up to keep in touch with some of the younger relatives but I don't use it.  

Not offended at all! My bewilderment DID make me feel old, but then that was why I'd correctly given it a wide berth in the early years. As per my OP, I thought that its growth as a social media platform, and its increasing use by musicians (and presumably other cultural types) - and not just "young" ones either - meant it was something more. 

Kind of know what you mean. I opened an account after visiting a friend of a friend’s photo exhibition as he said he posted his stuff on there. Very nice too, but I’m not sure what to do with it next.

Cant be right that you can only post from your phone, though, he uses serious Nikon equipment.

Don't understand what insta is for either. I set up an account at the urging of younger rellies, I've never posted, crap as Facebook may be it still seems far superior a platform for what I use it for; keeping up with scattered friends and family and providing an easily accessible visual scrapbook to let them know what we're up to. Gotta say, absolutely the best use I've found for Facebook is being able to look up the names of close friends offspring before going to stay with them. Very poor show when you can't remember the name of a God child.

I regularly post photos I've taken on my camera! You just need to transfer from your camera/computer to your phone and then upload from there.

I used to quite like it when it was just pics and one per post. I still use it but the pish that is 'Stories' kind of sucked the fun out of it for me.

So now that I basically carry a camera 24/7 I found that I generate too many photos to appreciate in any meaningful sense. 

I use instagram as a neat way to organise my 'best of' pictures and it's a really nice to look back across all your favourite memories (I find it quite helpful when life is getting me down). You could use Facebook in the same way but it doesnt have the same neatness. 

I put my artwork on instagram @ptrickeyart and have found a completely new audience and community to share it with. Horses for courses I guess.

I only set one up because it originally linked well with strava. I use it just as that's a separate 'work friendly' account. I only post things I'm happy for student's to see and leave it open. I find giving them that access stops them sending me facebook requests, even finding my wife and sending her requests.. so I just use it for family, dog, running photos. Some mildly political stuff will go on there but more stuff with a scientific angle that I can use to encourage debate.

Generally the generation after mine use it to just create debate. Basically facebook for other generations. It seems each generation has their own favorable social media mechanism. Tik Tok seems the latest one I think..

Hi, that makes sense. I personally don’t have visual things to try to promote though !

Hey Iain yours sounds like a useful application for you.

As for the generation younger than us....how do they use it to create debate? By posting memes or something ? 

Wow your stunning 😍!!!!

There's few third party tools that allow you to upload from your computer.

I uses to think this but it's not the case. It's fairly simple to post pics via PC.

You simply need to log in on your desktop, there is an option to switch display between desktop and mobile/tablet. If you do that it switches to mobile style view (may have to refresh) and you can add pics from your choice of desktop drive.

I like Instagram. It's like Facebook but more pics less waffle. Easier to choose who you see stuff from tio., and who sees yours.

It might be hard to tell, based on my

minimal UKC presence, but I like waffles 😃

She is 79 

Yeah pictures, memes, even clips of websites etc.

But instagram also allows them to follow hashtags, so I think they actually get a lot of their news and information through it. I'm always amazed how little they see of the regular news. 

Can you follow hashtags the same on Facebook? I didn't think you could but maybe you can. I think it builds communities away from just their own friends through hashtags or following celebs etc. I'm always amazed how many of my students have basically pen pals through their social media use.

Belgian or potato? There's no wrong answer.

No matter. That’s Instagram for you. Generic complements about how cute/hot/gorgeous/stunning/babelicious/hot you are. Either that or photos of what you’re having for dinner.

My kids laugh that I even have Instagram. They laugh even more at my mere 7 followers. 

If like me your family and friends use facebook there is not much added value in linking with them on instagram to see the same material, so you could use instagram to follow hastags of personal interests in a similar way to use of ukc for your interest in climbing.

It's very much taken the "look how great my life is" aspect of Facebook, gamified it, and pared it down to its bare bones.

I see Instagram as having 2 strands:

1) A game where played by uploading photos. The more likes, comments and subscribes you get, the more you are winning the game.

2) An advertising platform that is free to use where you can either a) advertise your own business/product or b) get paid to advertise someone else's business/product if you are doing well enough at 1).

I post pictures of climbing and cycling and tend to follow people who are climbers and cyclists. In the winter it works quite well to get very up to date climbing conditions information. You find little communities of interest, i.e. Lakes or North Wales winter climbers which can be really helpful. Otherwise nice to see pictures of people ice climbing in Canada or bikepacking in Estonia or whatever. Gives you some inspiration to make it to the weekend whilst sitting on the loo at work! 

I use Instagram to post my pictures @jethro_kiernan and it’s quite nice to Have somewhere uncluttered to display them, the thing with Instagram is you need to work a little at getting the algorithm to work for you, I hunted out like minded photographers followed magnum photographers etc.

im now part of a small group of supportive local photographers and it’s nice to get feedback from people doing the same stuff.

if you don’t put a little work in doing this then #mountain will turn up lots of pictures of pouts and yoga pants on a mountain 😏

Yes, I discovered that as a 'workaround' but decided life is too short!

Chris

The quality of photo I get from my camera and the ease of editing on a computer makes it worth the 5 seconds it takes to AirDrop to my phone, especially as I use Instagram for work. 

Nathan79 - Thanks, I'll have a look. Although, I quite like to see the picture on my phone first rather than on a big screen. 

Not that I use either in anger, but surely one of the biggest advantages of Instagram is that it isn't Facebook.

I may have bad news for you...

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/technology-50838013

Yes, I know, which is one of the reasons I don't use it. But I do suspect that its data mining and associated user misinformation potential isn't (yet) quite as disturbing as FB has shown to be.

Much like Facebook, it is what you make of it.  There is a lot of dross on there, but there is a lot of worthwhile stuff too if you can figure out what to filter and what to follow to make it work for you. I ignore the posturing, pouting and Stories.  The people I follow are for the most part friends who share their adventures and families, various climbers and skiers for inspiration and conditions reports, a couple of artists I like and some gymnastics/calisthenics pages for fitness inspiration.

I think the reason it has overtaken Facebook is because of the way that social media has evolved.  Facebook was originally mainly text (remember that?) but nowadays it is very rare to see a post without an associated photo or two. Instagram just flips it around and makes the photos the focal point.  I use it as my primary social media nowadays, although I share most stuff to FB too, primarily for the sake of my parents.

Instagram is an attention-seeking ego-stroke.

It's for people to post a photo of what they're doing in order to receive 'likes' from other people, which in turn validates their existence. The more likes, the more worthwhile you are as a human. Hence everyone bollocking as many #tags onto the end of their posts as possible to reach the maximum audience of potential ego-strokers. 'Likes' are often exchanged between people, regardless of whether the content is actually of interest. 

It's similar to Twitter, only that on Twitter you post an opinion in order to receive your validation. 

I guess there is a place for Instagram for advertising, and it's a good way to keep up with things which you might be interested in, such as new music releases, climbing equipment, etc. if you follow the bands, labels, companies. 

Instagram is full of beautiful photos but in reality it is mostly the ugliest picture of humanity. 

Not that I don't partake. 

Thanks everyone for an interesting useful thread! 

I signed up to Instagram a couple of years ago, mainly because my wife encouraged me. I occasionally post a picture, get a few likes or comments. It rather came in to its own last year when I was organising an arts festival, as all of the artists used it as their primary social media. I also have a few other friends in other creative industries for whom it is very important.

I have managed to avoid the whole fake perfection, narcissism stuff. However, I was on Formentere last year, which must be one of the most instagrammed places on earth, witnessing rows of people trying to get the perfect selfie.

I've been thinking the same after creating an account, I don't have anything on it because I get stuck on your question about it.

I've a fair few friends in their 30's and 40's who post things on it, and a smattering of older ones for what it's worth. Maybe I'll use it one day.

I use it a lot and I like it. I don't see pouts / inspirational quotes / sunset yoga because I don't follow the bollox. 

I follow a few people from UKC and its great to see what they're up to. I also follow other dog owners and have built up ip a small supportive network that really helped when my last dog died and my immediate family were blind to the effect it had on me. I regularly messge a few 'followers' (wrong word as we have a mutual relationships) and its nice to keep in touch.

I follow real life people I know or friends of friends in running, biking and climbing and it’s bloody magic sharing the psyche.