Posted on June 3, 2019
Networked Media 2019 || Assignment 3 Report
My personal engagement with Instagram and accessing how Instagram caters for both professionals and casual participants
Since March 2019, statistics show that 1 billion people use Instagram every month with 25 million of these accounts set up as business profiles, and over 200 million users visit at least one of these business profiles each day (Hootsuite.com). So, how is it that Instagram has maintained such popularity since 2010, and how do they manage to cater to both casual participants, as well as those who utilize the platform for professional businesses? In this report, I critically analyze the mapping of Instagram’s interface that shapes the user experience for both casual participants and professionals. Furthermore, I will compare my own personal engagement with Instagram as a professional photographer with the past month of limiting myself to the confinement of smartphone and Instagram visual content, and access to what extent Instagram caters for my personal benefits.
Background:
In this course, we looked at the design and functions of authoring, publishing and distributing photos and videos through a “networked” media. From understanding the developments of analogue photos and videos and how these forms were authored, published and distributed pre-internet, we then have investigated the evolution of Web 2.0 and the fluidity that allows for easier accessibility to authoring, publishing and distributing visual content. In particular, we look at the user interface of Instagram and how the affordances and constraints of the platform map the interaction between a user and the software. With Instagram functioning as the most popular image sharing app today, we have conversations in class analyzing the nature of how digital photos and videos are authored, published and distributed on the platform, whilst comparing this evolution from the times of analogue visual content.
Evidence/What?:
Prior to this report, I focused on posting 3 photos and 3 videos about “doors” onto Instagram with the intent to critically analyze the interface of Instagram and the level of engagement and quality I can develop within the constraints of a smartphone and the app software itself. The aim for my first photo and video was to create content to appeal to my followers and so, I posted a photo and video about my dog (because who doesn’t love dog videos?). The two classes after, I studied on the concept of ‘Instagramism’ and the software literacies of Instagram, thus I aimed to create my next posts emulating a tonal theme for my Instagram grid, whilst also critically analyzing the software capabilities that allow me to create this style of content.
Evaluation:
Going into this project, I specifically aimed to access how the interface of Instagram catered for two main demographics of Instagram users: casual users and professionals. Thus, as someone with a background in professional photography, confining within the parameters of how a casual Instagram user would create content offered me interesting outlooks on Instagram’s software for authoring, publishing and distributing content. When I usually post on Instagram, I take my photos on a DSLR, select and edit them in Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop, and I use a publishing app like Unum and Planoly to plan out my Instagram layout and schedule dates for posting. Thus, as I challenged myself to edit within the Instagram app, I came across many frustrating roadblocks that lead me to always thinking, “I could fix this in Photoshop”, or “I wish Instagram worked more like this other app.” So, although it was an accidental mistake, for the first week experimenting with apps outside of Instagram turned out very useful for my research because it allowed me more comparisons to make. Essentially three degrees of Instagram authoring, publishing and distributing: a) making content with professional gear and software, b) creating within the smartphone and additional apps with specific functions, and finally c) authoring, publishing and distributing only within the Instagram app.
My personal engagement with authoring, publishing and distributing within the parameters of a smartphone and the Instagram app deemed a very big challenge for me, as I wanted to still create content at the level of professional quality that I present my other work. Thus, I reached many hurdles and constraints that I had to navigate around in order to achieve a level of quality I could be proud of. Two main limitations that I want to focus on is first, the lack of versatility of a professional camera, and the lack of a function that would allow the element of planning and previewing the grid layout in order to achieve tonal uniformity; Instagramism.
As I was only allowed to author photos within the Instagram app that used my smartphone’s camera, I did not have the flexibility of particularly manual exposure adjustments that DSLR cameras offer. Thus, when trying to work around this constraint, it was helpful that I had fundamental skills in photography to help me navigate around these limitations. This particular concept has been integral to my understandings of working with software, which is if you can understand the functions of a design from its roots, you then can work around its constraints and manipulate the mappings in order to maximize the benefits of the design’s affordances. Thus, especially researching about professional iPhoneographers who work with these constraints day-to-day, I learned to find other strengths within photography such as composition and subject focus, and thus, I “fuelled the beast” and focused on these elements to make my photos stand out.
Affordances that I could identify from working within the mappings of the Instagram app is the convenience and immediacy of authoring, publishing and distributing images. For casual users who are not concerned with producing high-quality content and/or do not have time or accessibility to authoring outside of the Instagram app, Instagram has a clear layout so that casual users can easily navigate around the app. Furthermore, whilst the app skips over a few steps that professionals find integral to their craft (eg. selection process and more editing capabilities), for casual users or even photojournalists and professional vloggers, the simple steps of authoring, publishing and distributing content allows these specific users a fluid and quick process to get their content out there; an element of user sharing that is imperative in this age of new media.
Conclusion:
I was hoping that this experiment would help me discover new aspects of the Instagram app I could utilize for my future work, and although I have progressed in my opinions on iPhoneography, the constraints of Instagram for professionals is too restricting and I will probably remain working externally from the app. Instagram has proven to develop alongside the evolution of user engagement with new media and visual sharing, thus I do not doubt that Instagram will continue to find ways to cater to professionals. However, Instagram may lose its engagement from casual users if the interface becomes too complicated. Thus, ultimately Instagram will maintain its course of balance between catering for casual users and professionals, and for those who truly want to cut above the rest are the ones who understand the software and navigate around its constraints.
References:
Hinton, S & Hjorth L 2013, Understanding Social Media. Sage Publications, London 2013. (Section: pp. 1-31.)
Khoo E, Hight C, Torrens R, Cowie B 2017, ‘Introduction: Software and other Literacies’ in Software Literacy: Education and Beyond, Springer, Singapore. (pp.1-12)
Lister, M et al 2009, New Media: A Critical Introduction. Routledge, New York. (Sections: Networks, Users and Economics pp 163-169; Wiki Worlds and Web 2.0 pp 204-209; The Long Tail pp 197-200; User-generated content, we are all users now pp 221-232.)
Manovich, Lev. 2016, Instagram and the Contemporary Image, University of San Diego, USA, viewed 5 May 2018, http://manovich.net/index.php/projects/instagram-and-contemporary-image(Follow link and download pdf from the web page – ‘Introduction: ‘Instagram Platform as a Medium’ 9-18′)
Manovich, L. 2016, Instagram and the Contemporary Image. University of San Diego, USA. (‘Part 3: Instagramism.’)
Norman, D 1998, The design of everyday things , Basic Book, New York (Sections: Preface vii-xv; Chapter one pp 1-13; Chapter 4 (constraints) pp 81-87; (computers) pp 177-186).
Palmer, D 2014 ‘Mobile Media Photography’, in The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media, (eds) Goggin G., Hjorth L., Routledge, New York pp. 249–55.
Siapera, E. 2013, Understanding New Media. SAGE Publications, London (Section: pp.1-16).