I (Sort Of) Stopped Using Instagram And This Is Why
Over the past year, I’ve decided to stop using Instagram. To some, it may seem like this is based on recent business decisions from Meta and the rise of AI. But this decision has been brewing for a long time, since at least 2021, and I finally got to the point where my problems with Instagram vastly outweighed the benefits I was seeing from it. Okay. Here’s my problem with Instagram; and the reason I’ve sort of stopped using it. Stories, Reels and Maps (oh my!) A long time ago, Instagram was a platform for sharing photos. But it was more complicated than that. You would take a photo, and…
5 Ways To Increase Engagement On Instagram
One of my modules at university last semester focused on communication, part of this module specifically focused on communicating via social networks. As part of this, I had to create and run a social media account. Something I’m already kinda familiar with. This account was specifically focused on finding ways to engage viewers of the account and I learned quite a bit about how to use Instagram in the process. So today I want to share 5 ways to increase engagement on Instagram. I should point out that I am not a social media expert. I’m not a marketing guru. Everything in this blog post is based on a social…
I Quit Social Media For A Week
Recently one of my university projects focused on data visualisation. The brief was to take a set of data and create an infographic which displays that information in a way that is easy to understand. As part of this brief, I had to create an infographic based on a piece of personal data. I had a number of ideas for my personal data infographic and one of those was how much I use my phone each day. From this, I learned that I unlock my phone around 60 times each day. Even worse I spend about an hour each day on Instagram. As a result of this, I decided to…
How I Edit and Schedule Instagram Photos
As a designer, Instagram is a great way to promote my work. I have a second Instagram account just for my art and design work. Since the new API update, Instagram has allowed business accounts to directly schedule photos rather than manually post them. Today I thought I would share how I edit and schedule Instagram photos for my art account. TAKING PHOTOS I’m still working on my 100-day project so usually, I will wait for a free day so I can take multiple photos at the same time. Setting out a good chunk of time to take a batch of photos works better for me as I actually get…
My Instagram Tips: White Balance
Today I thought I would share one really simple trick which has made my Instagram photos look better. That is adjusting the white balance. For those of you who don’t know, white balance is the process of removing unrealistic colour casts so that objects that appear white in real life also appear white in photographs. SETTING UP The type of light that bounces off an object changes its appearance, this is something our eyes can adjust to but when taking a photograph the camera will record exactly what is there. This is easy to adjust nowadays using a digital SLR but phone cameras don’t have the ability change white balance. But…
