Friday, April 20, 2012

Instagram- Not a Tech Telegram

I first heard about this while watching the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I didn’t really take notice until a co-worker was thinking of all the ways it could be used for Rapid City Public Library. She didn’t go into any real ideas so I went online to find out what exactly Instagram is and some of its capabilities. For this information I looked into Cnet’s, “A Beginner’s Guide to Instagram”:
What is Instagram?
An app first and foremost, but also a social network. The Instagram app, available for Androidand iOS, can apply a variety of filters and effects to your photos. It also connects you to the Instagram network so you can share your modded snapshots and see those of other users. All this happens on your phone, though shared photos routinely land on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere.”

Feel free to read the article for more information or Cnet’s tips on how to get started with Instagram.
According to Instagram’s website page, About Us:
“Instagram came from that inspiration—could we make sharing your life as instant and magic as those first Polaroid pictures must have felt? Our first product is Instagram for iPhone, and we're just getting started.”

Want to know more about Instagram and Facebook joining together, read it directly from Instagram or from Facebook.

For those of you who may be concerned with your current Instagram account, now that Instagram has been bought by Facebook, here are instructions from PC World on how to save your previous pictures: “Instagram, Facebook Deal Sparks Privacy Concern: Here’s How to Quit”.

Although this is something that not every library might use, here is a site that has captured all of the instagram images that contain “#libraries”, Statigram. Perhaps you would like a list of alternatives. I suggest reading PCMag.com’s article, “10 Awesome Alternatives to Instagram”.

No matter how you feel on the subject one thing is true- this app has made a lot of people talk about it.


Links
Instagram’s Website- Not very much information and not the average .com location (http://instagr.am/)
Instagram’s Blog
            Includes: Tips, Photo Features, User Features, Instagram News, and more.
The Guardian’s page for Instagram news.
Instagram for Android from Instagram
Rapid City Public Libraries- Instagram account

INK361 - A web interface for Instagram and so much more.

“INK361. A site for browsing and managing photos from Instagram. Like photos; Comment on photos; Follow people; More on the way.” – Partnered with Instagramers.com
Wikipedia- I cannot vouch for it’s reliability but I honestly have to admit that I like information in an encyclopedia layout.

4 comments:

  1. Another alternative that's consider a "Grown Up" version of Instagram is an app called 500px
    I hear good things about it. http://500px.com/

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  2. Hi Sally-Adrina,

    Has Rapid City Public Library decided to move forward with an Instagram account? I manage much of the social media for Omaha Public Library and am curious if other libraries have seen success with Instagram...

    Thank you!
    Erin

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  3. Thanks for commenting Erin!

    Actually the only time RCPL uses Instagram is for our Facebook page or Teen Blog. We have contests and then take pictures of the winners (with their permission of course) or try the new app on our iPad2 that we use when roaming. One social media that HAS been a big help marketing and archiving community information has been Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/rapidcitylib/). I have already looked at OPL's Pinterest site and really like the "Read it and Eat" and "Library Pets".

    Good luck with your search for Instagram use in libraries.
    S.A.

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  4. Hi Sally-Andrina & Erin!

    I happened to chance upon this post. I know there are a few public libraries that have been using Instagram. I happen to be from Singapore and I know the Public Libraries Singapore network has an instagram account: @PublicLibrariesSG, as well as a Twitter account. You may like to check it out!

    Rgds,
    L

    ReplyDelete