instagram's impact on blogging

i'll preface this post by saying that i love instagram. it's fun, interactive, user-friendly, creative, and operates seamlessly. most everyone i know loves the app, or wants a smartphone just so they can use it. obviously, facebook saw what was up and purchased instagram a few months ago for $1 billion dollars - and after that, it absolutely exploded. it's likely worth more than $1 billion by now (don't quote me, i'm no business major)! i've used the app since spring of 2011 and i still have fun with it.

while instagram has its perks and i won't stop using it, i've realized that it's changed the way i blog, and the way others blog too. but for better or worse?

as a veteran blogger of nearly a decade, i've seen the "phases" of blogging and expression fluctuate. from livejournal's photo-less, emotional posts to tumblr's reblogging insanity, the way things are shared has evolved.

i remember when i first entered college and began blogging publicly - creating a post was an event. i'd spend a while setting up shots of makeup i'd bought or food i had made, just to get it perfect and beautiful for my blog. i'd carry my nikon d3000 in my handbag (so heavy!) and snap photos of my food, the setting, or what i was seeing. often, i would come home, look at my shots and decide they weren't good enough, thus i'd have no post. because posting without photos? who does that anymore?

then instagram happened. at first, i just used it to link to my twitter instead of using twitpic. putting filters on photos to make them look pretty was a lot more fun than just a boring old twitpic with sub-par lighting. but then, i watched instagram move from the app itself to blogs. it began taking the place of photos from dSLRS or film cameras. and soon, like many other bloggers, my daily life was being documented through my phone, and not my camera. i don't remember the last time my nikon left my apartment.

i remember being the girl who wanted to sit by the window in restaurants so i had good lighting for the shot of my salad, but now i just whip my phone out and instagram will brighten it up if it's too dark ('rise' and 'nashville' make everything look great!) i realize that the entire process of taking photos of your everyday activities is disputed as a little weird and ridiculous, but it's no different than the thousands of vloggers on youtube or bloggers around the internet. we all want to share, we all want to connect, we all want to let everyone see a bit of our world. i just miss putting more thought into it.


the fact is, instagram hasn't changed blogging in a good or bad way. but it's definitely changed it. while i praise instagram for it's convenience and i actually enjoy reading other bloggers "my life via instagram" type posts, sometimes i wish for the days where it didn't exist. as a busy student with a job and classes, i find the ability to take quick photos that look great for a post incredibly appealing. but in the future, i don't want to forget about my camera and an aspect that makes me love blogging : taking great photos and learning about my camera.

does anyone else feel this way? what are your thoughts on instagram and how has it changed your blogging or interactions via social media?