Let’s all reluctantly revisit the Days of Instagram…

Remember back in 2010 when Systrom and Krieger first launched this enticing new photo phenomenon? Finally, amateurs all across the globe were given the power to add effects which enabled their standard cellphone snaps to be transformed into vintage works of luxurious art. Surely this was a revolution for all aspiring teens, changing the world forever, so what could possibly go wrong?

Costa X-Pro II: who thought a teapot could ever look so interesting?

Not long after its launch, giving it six months tops, users sure enough began to feel the wrath of Instagram, discovering it’s downfalls, disappointments and drags. Frequently. The exciting new app shortly became a franchise that many felt they could have done without.

#the #most #annoying #was #the #excessive #amount #of #hashtags #used #for #every #picture. If (luckily) never experienced before then I’m sure you’re now sick of it already. As much as tags are promoted on many sites such as Twitter and Tumblr, the introduction to Instagram tags took trending to a new extreme. Instagram introduced what we were all missing: photos placed under the category ‘and’. How many times have you found yourself surfing the internet for hours because it hadn’t been specifically categorised in a certain theme or topic area? Well, with 30,066,930 posts and counting, ‘#and’ has proved itself to be quite a popular topic in the world of the web, surprisingly out-trending Justin Bieber; how could we possibly have so much to post about a simple connective…?

A close runner up to the hashtag hindrance is the ‘InstaFood Menu’. No longer do you have to search on the internet endlessly for recipe ideas or waste 40 minutes of your time watching a pretentious Italian muster up an overly complicated version of scrambled eggs, because now with Instagram it has never been easier to discover the contents of what a fellow follower has consumed throughout the week with countless daily broadcasts of salads, takeaways, fry-ups and even coffees. Now you’re guaranteed to never see another dull moment thanks to your daily lunchtime photo feed.

One upside of Instagram is that it has allowed us to explore our inner artists, and by ‘us’ I mean teenage girls. These are the kind of people who take Instagram so seriously that they create themed accounts consisting of laying out their new Topshop purchases on their white bed sheets and posting a picture onto their feed. However this is the kind of account guaranteed not to spam your timeline with food snaps because, well, a plate of chips simply doesn’t tie in with a vintage, flowery, Cath Kidston type theme! Another example of this is posting a picture of lipstick – whilst holding it – because, let’s be honest, searching the marketer’s website and seeing an image of the product along with a description and it’s price just doesn’t do it justice, really… Holding a product and inhumanly twisting your hand is a great marketing tip, bound to boost your sales.

I really do wish I could say that this was just a phase that has now passed, but unfortunately, the franchise lives on. All I can say now is beware, for I can’t guarantee that this will be the last of Instagram’s impediments, so please just #hang #in #there.