Oh Instagram, we love you and we hate you and we can’t figure out what to do with you, but everyday we continue to use all your features and play along with your crazy games. The good ‘ol days of Instagram as we used to know it may be gone, but in all the complaining that we (and a lot of others) have been doing, we try to remember why we loved and still love Instagram. It’s like that moment in Hook when the lost boys are pulling on Robin Williams’ face to see that under it all it’s still Peter Pan. A grown up, dorky, and less fun, Peter Pan.
Anyway, let’s give Instagram a quick moment (does it need one?) and remember why it’s still a pretty good app and why we fell in love with it so many years ago…
1 – It led us to so many good people…
Yes, when we started our joint Instagram account back in 2013, we did it to share our new lives here in Phoenix as newlyweds. We had just left our home in New York where we both grew up, and started completely fresh on the other side of the country. We didn’t know anyone, we didn’t know where to spend our time, and we were feeling a bit homesick, so we started taking photos to give us something creative to do. It allowed us to candidly document our early days here. We shared the places we were going to, our first apartment, and through “Instameets” and creative gatherings, we ended up meeting all of the people we now call our good friends. No matter what happens in the future, Instagram was a huge part in making Phoenix feel like home for us and we will always owe ya one, IG. 😉
2 – It’s free!
So many apps cost money. They come with the basics and you pay for the rest. Instagram is completely free! Yes, we know that now there are ads and promoted posts, but you are free (no pun intended) to use the app as you wish. Share your photos with friends and family, or grow your business. It’s whatever you want it to be and that’s still pretty cool.
3 – The algorithm isn’t all bad…right?
Yes, we miss the days when we would actually see the photos of the people we follow. Are you still out there, @timmelideo? 😉 We’re still not sure why we follow people only to see their photos once a month, but that doesn’t stop us from personally dropping into their profile to catch up on what we’ve missed. It’s not all bad though (is it?)… The best thing about the algorithm is that it now shows your photos to your followers at different times. We’re still not sure if this is helping or hurting us, but this has certainly allowed us to let our guard down a bit with posting times. People will see your photo at different times, so it doesn’t matter as much when we actually “go live” with it. When Instagram is a tool for your business, it’s maybe not as helpful, but definitely takes off some of the pressure of when you actually choose to post. So, let your worries go, and share whenever you want to.
4 – Instagram Stories
It was a bit of a slap in the face to Snapchat when IG Stories came to town, but for us it’s always been easier to keep it all in one place. It’s been fun to share the behind the scenes things, the personal silly things, snippets from our travels, and of course, Henry being good ‘ol Henry. What we love more than posting to IG stories, is following along with others on there. It’s been so refreshing to get an inside look at our favorite bloggers and close friends. And for those who care deeply about the look of their personal feed, IG Stories is nice to show some personality without compromising “the feed”. Ha!
5 – Photo journaling is a really special thing.
Probably the coolest thing of all is the fact that if you go waaaaay back in your feed you’ll find some really dated, embarrassing moments that will live on FOR-EV-ER. We love that Instagram is still a place for moments. Yeah, they are a bit more curated than the early days, but we’re still sharing photos of our lives, and it’s fun to see all those moments in the grid from years past. If you scroll back in our feed to the beginning (please don’t!) you will see a beardless Robert and a fringe-less Christina and that in itself is why we love using this app after all these years. We’re getting old!
This post is definitely not sponsored by Instagram, but we thought a bit of reflecting on an app that has been such a big part of many people’s lives was in order. We’re not into all the changes going on over there, but we’re trying to remind ourselves that Instagram has been a pretty great tool for our personal lives and from a business perspective too. It’s still a huge source of inspiration for us and we’re still using it to socialize with friends, meet new ones, and document all the day-to-day. What do you guys think? Are you still using the app as often? We’d really love to hear your thoughts about it all in the comments.
Thanks for the shoutout :* I see all your posts! hahaha
With every post and blog post I adore you guys even more! Wonderful post and I think it was refreshing to re-framed all he IG hate with some gratitude! XO – Anna
I agree with number 5! I loooove to take photos of a lot of things and moments so having somewhere to share them is perfect! Instagram is one app I check daily a few times a day because I also enjoy looking at other people’s images. It’s amazing how an app can open the door to friendship.
I did go back on your feed months ago!! I like to know where my fav people to follow, start from! It’s cool to see the progression of a profile over time. Im fairly new to IG (a year on!) But I have gotten the best ideas from IG, home, style, beauty (hence, my bangs! From you!)..and so on. I still like it and love sharing!
Thank you for bringing a bit of positivity on instagram because there is not so much of it these days… But I completely agree with you, even if there is a new algorith (and it’s probably not the last one), it’s still the good app that everyone use and love in the end.
(and of course, you guys are one of my all time favorite account !)
xx
I’m completely with you! Nice to see a blogger not be so upset with the changes and see what Instagram has done great for us!
Thanks for the post and some history for a relative insta newb ????. I really love the app… especially compared to Facebook and Twitter. I enjoy the simplicity of it, and for my favorite accounts to follow… I don’t mind at all checking their feeds individually.
This is so great! It feels like the creators of Instagram don’t like how some people use the app. They want to control how everyone interacts and they don’t want IG to turn into a giant commercial. But at the same time they are basically forceing people/business to pay to promote to reach more of their followers, which allows IG to cash in, and makes it feel like a big giant commercial. A bit like talking out of both sides of their big instagram mouth. So if IG continues to change, what’s the next platform that will allow people to connect without so many restrictions?
Great post! It’s so easy to focus on the negative, but it’s still such a useful and inspiring app.
We’re still quite a small, young Instagram and blog, so still learning. Sometimes it makes us sad that we’ve joined Instagram at a point where it’s very difficult now to grow and see engagement flourish. But we love the platform and the small community we are building so try not to let it get us down. At the end of the day it’s quality not quantity and we definitely have quality followers that we adore! Thanks for keeping our Instagram spirits up 🙂
Daniel & Niki – Wanderlust Us
I started following you a few months ago and I love the two of you! I’m a bit jealous and wish my husband and I have been married for 30 yrs and wish we had Instagram back in the day, you two remind me so much of us from back in the day. We do have lots of albums and photos to reminisce by, but an app like Instagram would have been fantastic. Good luck with your journaling. Continue to post I love it all!
Ivonne
My issue with instagram is the photo quality that has diminished so radically since late last year. It’s not as enjoyable now to scroll through low quality photos. Plus, there is no one there to answer a question or respond to “problems”, but you can post a message letting “someone” know that something not working. Where is that information going? I have never received a response and things remain the same. Yet, I found your IG and that made me happy and led me to your website. Your website is delightful.
Thank you for this positive, fresh perspective!! I’ve given up trying to understand or ‘beat’ the algorithm, and just keep doing what I’m doing. Thats all I can control! Love you two!!
Loved this post!! There is definitely a lot to be said about IG but I stand on the side of positivity, like you guys! There’s definitely a lot to be grateful for to IG haha!
What a nice article to remind us why we have so much fun on Instagram. We spend so many hours looking at a screen, it is great to have this window to the rest of the world.