Monday, April 11, 2022

I for Instagram

I was never really a fan of Instagram when it first started. I was a novice who didn't even knew what to do or write there. I remember someone tutoring me in mid of 2012 about how to use hashtags and how I can tag, checkin the location etc. I used to upload flowers, tourist spots I visited, cooking pics and such once in a blue moon when I was in Delhi after my wedding!

Just the day before I entered labor, I vividly remember uploading a pic of mom and me just reviving the memories. 

Pic I uploaded before my delivery day

Little did I know that I was gonna deliver the next day. Once I had Zaara, Instagram worked for me as a great platform to upload all her snapshots, record her memories, milestones and much more! However I made my account private as a safety measure. I feel to have the space for myself and few friends! Even now when ever I am little stressed I love browsing through my own Instagram page. It makes me feel the troubles are worth it and the events I could log there are my treasure trove!

From sharing the pics of diapers, Johnson n Johnson oil indicating baby's arrival, to sharing the dance and non-dance videos of Zaara, I have shared so many tid bits of both motherhood and daughterhood .Instagram acted a magical tool to save and revive my life's moments! I slowly lost interest in facebook and migrated to here. As we entered Covid - Instagram became my go to place, a virtual hangout where I can bump in to few like minded folks, authors, favorite actors, comedians and so on. Every one seemed to have an Instagram profile!

In Covid a RJ turned stand up comedian, a content creator, also an actor Danish Sait (@danishsait)became my most favorite. His videos were sure to make me laugh out loud. He singly plays multiple hilarious characters. The trauma of covid and many other news elements were captured by him quite comically! Go to his page. You won't regret! He just uses some silly props as telephone or hair (for women characters) and starts conversations between all the characters. It is not an exaggeration if I say he kept my spirits intact with his hilarious short videos through out COVID lockdowns. Read more about him here --  TOI article.

As we got locked up in homes, it was like I was seeing every one in the rectangular frame of mobile I was holding. I was not sure whether to be happy or sad. A part of me was happy as we can still be in touch and as I am completely unsocial - Covid or No Covid. Another part of me was - upset as so many peoples' lives, healths (general healths) and professions and, incomes were getting effected. I started following many instagram pages just to not lose touch with the world! I started reading only the highlights of news by genuine reporters like Faye D' Souza on instagram. Her news is crisp, clear and just has the needed details. Rather than digging deep in to the news and getting depressed, this helped me to panic less.



Instagram gave scope to grow to many people - artists, doodlers, actors, influencers, fashionistas, retailers etc. Whoever wants to flourish in business for sure creates an Instagram page nowadays! Some interesting Insta profiles I follow -ttt_official (Terribly Tiny Tales) , Graphicurry , @CorporatComics,
and, 9Gag). There are many more but just listed few pages from the top of my head!

Trying out Instareels - a thing I discovered recently is so much fun. Specially as Zaara loves to enact, sing and dance - the reels helped to capture the moments quite creatively. However there are few glitches in insta - sometimes there are copyright issues even if the audios are publicly used by all. They block the videos continuously and reviving them is a headache. I still don't know how to upload a long video on Insta. I see many uploading 3-4 min videos, but I am not able to do it (and too lazy to research. If any of you know share with me). The love for insta is blooming and for me Insta is here to stay for long and it is not just  a passing fancy!

Trivia💥: In April 2012 Instagram was bought by Facebook. Instagram began development in San Francisco as Burbn, a mobile check-in app created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. Realizing that Burbn was too similar to Foursquare, Systrom and Krieger refocused their app on photo-sharing, which had become a popular feature among Burbn users. They renamed the app Instagram, a portmanteau of "instant camera" and "telegram". (source : wiki)

Some cool blogs you can check:





I am participating in Blogging from A-Z challenge 2022 and this is my I post. I am taking up this challenge after many years as I want to talk about Covid life and the daughter diaries!

42 comments:

  1. I was on Instagram for a bit but had to give up some social media. Not enough time to do it all :) I did enjoy following who I did when I was on it and posting pictures myself. Maybe some day I'll get back to it :)

    betty

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  2. I am on Instagram and still learning its features. I love the Reels and want to make one but dont kno how! :-( Instagram is a good place to find great products made by locals.

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    1. I still don't kno so many things. No time to figure out....

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  3. A lot of my students are on Instagram. Maybe, that's why i feel uncomfortable there 😊

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  4. Nice read...I m still not on Instagram. Social media for me started with Orkut, then FB- Twitter...
    Insta remains to explored...someday!

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  5. I'm not active on Instagram or Facebook. I used both for some time but they aren't my kind of platforms. So I quit them finally. But as you said, social media platforms have proved immensely important for artists who can now showcase their talent with ease.

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  6. I really enjoyed Instagram until very recently. But idk why my interest is fading in the past few months

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  7. I use and like SM in moderation. Also, SM made (like you point out in your post) it easy to connect and create via Insta and zoom (for me) during Covid times.
    Moderation is key to enjoying anything in life:)

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    1. Don't know what SM is..scratching my head...ya moderation is definitely key

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  8. I like going through posts on Instagram but i think i am still more of an FB person

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  9. I have only recently started to try and use Instagram for more than the odd cat picture. I am really rather enjoying it. I just wish I had more time to look at it properly, but there are so many social media platforms and not enough hours in the day 🤣
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings: YouTube - What They Don't Tell You (and free fiction)

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  10. Love your pre-delivery post and the reel is fun. I love how we all find our own way with social media in all its iterations. Instagram is really the only thing I use, and I had to be coerced into it at first. But I love it now. I follow a large number of artists and my feed is always full of lovely images and inspirations, which makes me happy.

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    1. Ya it's a one stop shop for many artists, retailers, diy stuff , food recipes and much more

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  11. I am still learning how to use insta. Just posting very basic stuff!

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  12. I took time to warm up to IG too but now I relish that I can discover books through it, as well as travel destinations... I am still learning how to use it better but for now, happy with it ..
    Loved that memory of you posting right before you delivered.. a whole mom-and-me thing twice over.. And thank you so much for featuring my blog and visiting me regularly..

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    1. I learnt Ig after many years. My pleasure. Thanks for reading

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  13. I don't have Instagram. I'm actually really terrible with most social media platforms. I only just started Blogger because of a co-worker. I will have to check out the comedian you found. A friend of mine follows a comedian Pinky Patel on Instagram. Check her our since you have Instagram. She is hilarious!

    Just visiting from A-Z Challenge.
    https://janetwoodsthoughts.blogspot.com/

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    1. Noted pinky Patel. Will check ya check Danish Sait for some laughs. Thanks for ur time here

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  14. I finally deleted my Facebook account a little while back. A few people have told me I might like Instagram instead. I'll check it out at some point. Social media can just be so frustrating sometimes, so I'm not in a rush to try something new. Not yet, at least.

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  15. I used to be on more sites - not so much now. I think it's wonderful that you have a place to save your memories - that's important.
    Happy start to the week - smiles
    Intensity

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  16. Even I am not that tech savy but its important to be updated with all that is around. I love insta though don't know much about posting part.

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  17. I am an Instagram devotee! I have two accounts, one has more than 11K posts! I really enjoy doing creative Instagram challenges. This month, however, my posts are all (or mostly) about A-Z! Find me at @annembray and @annembray.art

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  18. https://paromitagoswami.wordpress.com/2022/04/10/i-illusion-atozbloggingchallenge2022/

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  19. What a wonderful topic! Instagram has been of much help to me as well. Especially when I wanted to find help for covid affected family and friends. Some people criticize me for being on insta but I know that if we focus at the positive aspects of anything on social media, it can be a boon.

    See you around the A-Z challenge!
    Hope you stop by my blog https://momandideas.com/

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  20. It is so true that with technology we could ride out the storms of the past two years a bit more easily. It has been so very isolating that is it easy to panic. I am not on instagram and have no plans to. Blogging and FB have been enough for my brain! Maybe sometime.
    Thanks for visiting my blog, Mainely Write, today.

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  21. I had my reservations with Instagram too, I started it once then deleted it because I grew frustrated that nobody seemed to care what I'm up to. Now I have it again and it's my favourite social media. I only follow people I like and I post random things I want to share.
    I think it was nice to have this little connection to the world during lockdown.

    Fanni from www.inkmapsandmacarons.com

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    1. I think when u get a hang of it u may like it! Ya in lockdown i mainly got used to it. Didn't matter about no of followers or friends. Was a good option when u r indoors just at home

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  22. I have an Instagram account I mainly share some things on there because some of my friends don’t use Facebook but do use Instagram 😍

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  23. I have an Instagram account but I haven't posted there in ages.

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  24. Love how you've made Instagram your own personal comfort haven! I am still a novice and not very driven. I just end up resharing some posts which I find impressive on my story. Very rarely do I upload my own. Great recommendations on Danish Sait etc. Haven't watched but will definitely check out. Also enjoying how you're recommending additional pages as well. Z is awesome and very creative! Beautiful memories.

    Here's my post for I:
    It Ends With Us

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  25. @All: thanks for all your comments and much thanks for ur valuable time. Please excuse me as am not able to find time to individually reply. I will do so after a to z. Thank u

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  26. I haven't gotten on Instagram yet. I already spend so much time on social media I don't need to add another one in. I feel like Facebook helped me feel more connected during the COVID shutdown.

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  27. Even I have been a latecomer to Instagram. I am not a picture person. I more of a text person. Since Instagram is a visual medium, I never found a reason to use it, though I had opened an account. Now also, I just post something just to keep it going.

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  28. I joined instagram pretty early but I am still to get a hang of it. What Instagaram is for you Facebook is for me, somehow more comfortable there.

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  29. Instagram is truly a wonderful addictive app!
    Danish Sait is really amazing.. his videos always make me laugh!

    Hopping in from the A-Z community,
    Dream
    https://thedreamgirlwrites.wordpress.com/a-z-2022/

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  30. I follow Faye D'Souza too. Bite sized news from her is the best.

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  31. I am practically clueless about Instagram, don't have an account there 🙃 still after reading your post it seems I m definitely missing out on something exciting 😇😇👍👍

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  32. I am not an avid user of social media tools although I like the technology underneath. Instagram, Pinterest, Spotify, Youtube so on has become key enablers of the booming creator economy. I think eventually FOMO will strike me to start using these platforms :) To add to your trivia Ian Spalter who designed Insta's logo and the head of design for Instagram featured in Netflix's documentary "Abstract: The Art of Design".

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  33. I have so enjoyed watching Zaara grow up via Instagram! She's such a funny, smart girl!

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