I caved in. Not the first time, mind you, but I did cave.
I signed up for Instagram. Yeah, I hear you – like I need another Social Media platform.
This may not seem like a big deal to any of you, but I had staked my claim early on that Instagram was stupid when it first made its appearance. I just thought it was dumb, and had no intention of participating. (I made the same case against Twitter, and it is thus far proving correct.)
The thing that put me off was my understanding of how much science of photography has progressed in my lifetime. When I was a kid, I was thrilled to get this camera:
Yes, it is a Kodak FlipFalsh. What was so hi-tech cool about it was that you would take the first 6 pictures, then flip the flash over to take the second 6. The film cartridge was tiny. Film? That’s what we used to take pictures in the old days.
When you were out of film, you would take the cartridge to the drug store, and send it off. A few days, or a week, or two, later, you would get your prints back, along with the negatives from the film.
One thing you could count on: If you sent in a roll of 36 pictures, you could absolutely count on the fact that 5 or 6 would be good. (Granted, you would pay for film and developing for all 36 – with double prints, of course.) This poor success/failure ratio made us more judicious in our use of our cameras. We just couldn’t afford to take pictures of everything.
Fast forward to now: I am a big fan of digital photography, because I take so many terrible pictures, and love my delete button. And the new generation can, and does, take pictures of everything. The word “judicious” is not even associated with digital photography.
The thing about Instagram, is that one of the initial draws was that you could take a beautiful, high-resolution picture – taken using remarkable technology – put it through the Instagram filtering process, and emerge with a picture that looks like an old Polaroid that got lost behind the desk for the past 30 years – complete with fading and scratching.
Why would anyone want that?
Apparently, most everybody.
My EC, the FOMLs, my extended family all use Instagram to send pictures back and forth. They can have a birthday picture of someone blowing our birthday candles posted and “liked” 50 times before the candles stop smoking.
I felt compelled, nay, browbeaten into joining. I was tired of everyone saying:
“Did you see the Prom pictures.”
“I have 150 likes on the picture of the dog.”
“I can;t believe they deleted that picture – it was hysterical.”
But the worst was this:
EC: “Honey, look at this picture,” as she puts her phone in front of my face.
Me: “Hang on, I gotta find my glasses,” as I wander off.
EC: “Nevermind.”
So I caved. This very morning I signed up for Instagram. I filled out the registration screens and got all ready to go. Then it asked me if I wanted to add my Facebook friends. I thought “Why not?”
I almost hit “OK” but stopped when I realized that my phone was logged into my MMM Facebook account, complete with 1500+ friends. That could have been disastrous. For me, and for them.
Luckily, I caught it in time and set it up with my personal FB account, (with far fewer friends) and now I am good to go.
I haven’t posted any pictures yet. I’m not sure if it is because I am too lazy, or because I am practicing the same photographic delayed gratification that I learned in my youth*.
*Safe bet is “lazy.”
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I love Instagram! It’s like a purer form of facebook with no ads or anything. Plus it’s easier to be funny when there is a picture involved. If you want to be my friend on Instagram I’m @heyhildie.
You can bet your sweet bippies that the minute I get a smart phone, I am signing up for the Instagram!!
I keep hearing about instagram, but have no desire to figure it out. I don’t do facebook or twitter either. I’m still trying to figure out my smartphone. If I add anything else-I’ll probably just end up with a headache. 🙂
I’m more behind than you technologically. I don’t have a cell phone, so can’t really participate on Instagram. I’m just not a cell phone person. Maybe some day…
No Facebook, Instagram or Twitter but I may have to give in to Facebook and Instagram if I ever want to be included in anything again.
I love Instagram. I think having a photo instead of just a status captures so much more of life. I have been trying convince my dad for months so he can see the pictures of his grandchildren. Can you tell him to join? #thatwouldbegreatthanks
No Twitter here, either. I’m thinking about signing up for Instagram so I can see what’s going on in my daughter’s life.
Nice memories at the top of the article; my first camera was a Kodak Instamatic 126 (which used the standard four-shot flash cubes). The 110s looked really cool, but I was leery about the quality you’d get from such a tiny negative. (Yeah, I was a film snob in junior high…)
Instagram, good….snap chat, from the devil
No facebook, no Instagram, and no Twitter – I guess I need sent back to the 20th century. I did have that camera though or one close to it.
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You should register with MMM and just post pictures of cats.
Still haven’t attempted instagram. But I laughed when I saw your flipflash camera! My family had one just like that when I was young. I think I even took it to middle school to take pictures of my friends. I loved the smokey smell of the flash 🙂
Instagram is my only social media platform (well, aside from blogging) and I love it. I especially love the outside apps that allow me to take, edit, and post pictures that don’t look 35 years old.
I was curious to see how you were going to manage a photography platform as an anonymous blogger, but that last paragraph she’d light on that one. Smart man.
Hope you enjoy the Instagram. And I’m with you on the Twitter. I never connected with that one. Facebook was another story, which is why I no longer use it.
Yay, Instagram! I was the exact same way about both Instagram and Twitter. I agree with you on the Twitter account–I can’t figure it out, and I’m 21. I think you’ll come to enjoy Instagram, though. It can be fun scrolling through pictures and reading hashtags. I bet you’ll come up with some funny stuff to post too.