Help, I’m Addicted to Instagram!

How do you share photos today?

Facebook is surely still king, but there’s been a rather large shake up this summer as Twitter added its own integrated photo functionality. This was rather bad news for TwitPic and yFrog the former photo hosts of choice for those sharing photos on Twitter.

Sample Instagram Photo - Daddy Daughter Cuddling - Instagr.am

Daddy Daughter Cuddling – Instagr.am

If you’ve used Twitter’s new photo function, now integrated into their browser and app based clients, you may have noticed the “powered by photobucket” tagline beneath your photos. Yep, that’s the same photobucket used by millions of MySpace users in the late 1800’s.

Sample Instagr.am Photo - An offering to the God of Coffee

An offering to the God of Coffee – Instagr.am

For many of us, the go-to app for sharing photos via our smart phones has been intagram. The first three photos you see on this post were shared by me on Twitter and Facebook using Instagram on my iPhone. In addition to minor built-in effects and framing…

Sample Instagram Photo - December Texas Butterfly

Texas Butterfly in December – Instagr.am

Instagram is a small social networking application in and of itself. Its users can and do follow each other, see their friends’ latest photos, “♥ Like” them, and leave comments. So it’s small wonder that Photobucket’s moving in on their territory, too.

How Snapbucket Works

How Snapbucket works

Yep, Photobucket rolled out Snapbucket with a remarkably similar look to Instagram. It’s got a bit more flexibility editing wise, but like Google+, a social network (if that’s what these really are) is only as good as the people who are on it. No friends, no network.

Sample Snapbucket Photo - Daddy Daughter

Daddy Daughter via Snapbucket

Right now there are a nice sized group of users on Instagram, and if you use it as a photo-centric social networking vehicle (either integrated with Facebook & Twitter or not) it serves it’s purpose rather well. Time will tell if Snapbucket win out, and I didn’t even have time to get into Path or PicPlz.

Who or what do you take photos of?

19 comments

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  1. Now all I need is a smart phone!

    1. Hey, D. I understand. When my last one broke, I went for a long time (and saved a fair bit of money) without, but I’m so happy to have one again. 🙂

  2. I really like diptic now! Fun to arrange groups!

    1. I do like the way it lets you combine and arrange photos before posting, right from your phone. Ah, but 99 cents? I have yet to pay for an app. Yes, daddy’s cheap… though I prefer “thrifty”. 😉

  3. I also use Instagram, i think it is the best and most userfriendly app in the scene. Or if sombody – like me – stores their photos maybe on flickr, there an easy way to share, too.

    1. Thanks for your comment, Cindy. Yes, I find it super easy to use, and I really enjoying viewing my friend’s latest photos on my phone. I’m afraid I’m a bit addicted to it. 😉

    2. I’ll definitely give this a try. Sounds like fun.

      1. It’s great, Becky. Have fun!

  4. Nice, I used to use vfrog but have been searching around and a few people have pointed to towards Instagram so I am going to check it out.

    1. Considering it’s free, I definitely recommend you give it a try, Lizza. A number of Social Media superstars (not counting me) are using it, so you’ll be in good company. 😉

    • Samantha Gluck on at
    • Reply

    Hi Michael,

    I love Instagram too and am just now learning how to really utilize it for fun and business! I’m not sure how to follow people on the platform or to see who’s following me.

    I love taking photos of my kids, my Dragonslayer, and our family activities, but have taken to snapping a few photos I think I might be able to use for stories on my websites as well. As you know, I don’t write specifically about my kids, family life, and personal life on my sites; nor, do I like to display photos of my children with their names attached (a latent habit from another life — a life before kids — but a lasting habit all the same). As I thought about this little idiosyncrasy of mine, I realized that I could use Instagram for my working websites as well. I haven’t used any of my collected images yet, but plan to do so.

    What do you think? Do you think Instagram photos will have enough resolution to look good on a post?

    1. Hi, Samantha.

      So happy you dropped by. Let me address a couple of your questions: 1) to view your followers, who you are following and all the photos you’ve taken (or uploaded) to date, just click on the “profile” icon on the bottom right of the app’s main screen when you start it up. Instagr.am, at least at this time, is largely app based, and I’m not aware of an online (e.g. via a browser) way of managing your account. 2) Yes, the resolution should be more than adequate for use on webposts. I can recommend that you take the photo first with the smartphone’s built in (high resolution) camera and then important, crop and apply filters in the Instagr.am app to maximize quality if that’s a concern. And 3) Instagr.am should work great for your business as well as personal needs, especially as you are a big Twitter user. At this time it integrates VERY well with Twitter (add hash tags and URLs if you want), but while it does integrate with Facebook, they sometimes down-regulate other apps visibility on user walls… plus there is no way to post to a Facebook business page at this time.

      Wishing you and yours, happy holidays, Samantha!

  5. What is this Instagram you speak of? I have no idea hahahahahaha

    1. I’m sure the ellyfilho in the following link is no relation, right? 😉 http://instagr.am/p/HCwNJ0xLk5

  6. I’ve been using Diptic for a while and it’s great for grouping straight from my I phone/ Only problem is I have to pay for it!

    1. Thanks, Amanda. I think that’s the one my wife uses. I found a couple of free ones I like pretty well, e.g. Frametastic & PicStitch. At least they were free at the time I downloaded them. Some apps start as free beta’s and then switch, so can’t guarantee they’re free still.

  7. I use diptic. It’s quite easy. But I will try instagram Michael. Thanks,

    1. Thanks, Paul. I’ve played with Diptic. I think you’ll find that Instagram is far more than an image editor… it’s a social media site in it’s own right. There’s a reason Facebook just paid $1 Billion dollars for them. For editing prior to use in Instagram I often use PS Express from Photo Shop, and you might find Pixlromatic fun, too. Both are free unless you buy extras. Have a super weekend!

  8. This is very attention-grabbing, You’re a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your great post. Also, I’ve shared your web site in my social networks

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