Why I'm an Instagram Fan

For a long while, I didn't really get Intagram. It kind of annoyed me actually. All I could think was who wanted a bunch of pictures that look like they were taken in 1978? I mean I have actual pictures that WERE taken in 1978 and they are nothing special! So I joined and...meh. I wasn't so impressed. It seemed like the same things I was seeing on Facebook; lots of selfies in bathrooms and cars, drinks I wish I was drinking, toes in the pool, toes in the sand, toes in front the ocean, toes getting a pedicure, toes in cute new sandals...where did this American foot fetish come from, anyway? So I kind of gave up on it.

Then after hearing how people were all in love with Instagram and the young un's were flocking to it and abandoning Facebook, I had to give it another try. I will NOT get old and crusty dang it! I don't want to be like that person who still uses AOL on dial-up when the rest of the world is on wi-fi. (You can see how gracefully I'm accepting my age...) So I created a new account under my blog name, and started to follow other teachers and shebangitty-bang, I was in love. Just.like.that. Seriously. I became an Instagram Junkie overnight, I tell ya! I think I narrowed it down to a few reasons why...

This is the big 'no duh'. It's all pictures. Big pictures with cool effects and captions! It's quick and easy to scroll through and see what's going on with my friends. It comes up and refreshes instantly, unlike Facebook that kind of takes forever and a day to load on my phone. And once I'm on I don't have to make any decisions or look for anyone or read notifications, it's all right there waiting for me. There are notifications if someone new is following you or liked or commented on one of your pix, but they're quick and easy to scroll through. And if you don't click on them, the notification icon disappears in a few seconds so it's not in your way or sitting there mocking you because you haven't clicked it yet.

Well, at least not yet anyway. I'm not distracted by the miracle cure for every disease ever that can be found in a little bean from the rainforest. And I'm not haunted by forty-seven shoes in my sidebar because I looked up "flip-flops" once. My scrolling is not interrupted by what Dr. Oz thinks I should eat or the fact that I can earn my Masters degree from home in my pajamas in 48 hours. I do see some bloggers and tpt'ers teasing or promoting items or blog posts, and personally I'm cool with that because I'm on Instagram for that reason, to see what's going on in my bloggy friends' classrooms and I get a little peek into their "real" lives too. So if you follow me on Instagram, you'll get lots of shots of what's going on in school, classroom projects, a teaser every now and then about what's coming up on the blog or what I'm working on, mixed in with a little of my ridiculously low-key personal life. I'll spare you the pix of me blogging from the couch, but we do go to some cool places from time to time too. Like last week, for example...

When I'm wrong, I admit it. Usually. But not always. But this time I was wrong about the photo effects. There are so many cool apps that let you turn your pictures into little works of art. It's so much more than the filters that come with Instagram which, to me,  make your pictures look like you just found them in an old box in the garage. Personally, I'm loving Instacollage and Beautiful Mess right now.

Here's one of my biggies. On Facebook, if I like a company or joke or picture, it tells the whole wide world! I realize that "Denise likes Dove Chocolates" then "Denise likes Weight Watchers" are kind of contradictory, but whatev. I don't need everyone I know to know I'm a big, crazy mess who can't decide between chocolate and a lettuce leaf. It's also better that I don't know what some of my friends "like" either, if you know what I mean. The privacy settings seem to change every 15 seconds or so, so I can't even count on that keeping my secrets safe. During the election, I "liked' both candidates just so that I could see what both were saying. I didn't really like-like one of them, but Facebook told the whole world I did and that made for some interesting conversations at work! "You like HIM?? I can't believe it!" Womp. Womp.

This is probably my number one reason for loving Instagram. If I follow someone I actually get to SEE their stuff! Imagine that! Facebook has done some strange things with their algorithms and things so that even if you "liked" the page of a company, they won't necessarily show up in your feed! It kind of leaves people with a page for their business (like mine for SunnyDays) scrambling to keep people engaged with their page so you keep seeing them in your feed. Or worse yet, we are sometimes paying for posts to show up for you. Me no likey so much, so that's a big plus for Instagram right there. Everyone I'm following shows up no matter what.

I think one of the biggest reasons I became a convert is that for now at least, Instagram seems so much less commercial and personal. Like leaving New York City and moving to a quaint little New England town. It's more relaxed and calm. <--crap, maybe I am getting old. Also, focusing on following other teachers was a big factor for me. There are so many bloggers on Instagram, just check out their blog to see if they have a link or search them out once you're on. I've also found some by reading comments on pictures and then clicking on their name to follow. Be sure to check out #TeacherTalkTuesday too. It's a great linky started by Rachelle and Michelle. There are lots of other features, like picture challenges and the hashtag thing (both real and for fun) that could take up a whole 'nother post. But once you start playing around you just kind of get it.

If you're on, let's connect. You can find me here. I can't promise I won't ever take a "toe" picture though. I do have pretty good feet and it's a shame to keep them hidden from the world...