The Social Media App Instagram is made up of 5 Main buttons. The home page acts as a news feed, The user can scroll through their followers uploads and like or comment on them.
The Activity Button shows, What your followers are liking and also shows how your followers are interacting with your content for example who has followed you, who has liked your photo's or commented on them. This aspect means users are constantly informed of the activity of their followers and introduces them to content they may not have seen otherwise.
When A user takes a photo, a set of 19 pre modified filters can be selected from, allowing the user to make their photos more professional, Instagram has allowed users to create images on a professional level, This is a clear example of prosumer behaviour, Instagram has enabled users to create and share content of a professional level, blurring the boundaries between producers and consumers and allowing the audience to take further control. Prosumerism by definition is a consumer using semi professional tools or equipment to produce content of a professional level, in essence this is why Instagram was created in the first place. The "Share" option allows users to share there content onto other social media websites meaning Instagram is becoming a cross platform phenomenon. Henry Jenkins says that Participatory culture is " the development of tools/ technologies and enabling the creation of content." (Jenkins,2006) Instagram is a key example of this happening, are producers therefore losing power to their audiences? It could be said that because Instagram have ownership of the photos posted on their app, the users are handing over free content for institutions to then use for their own benefit, therefore Instagram is creating a world in which producers are allowing a more "active" audience and stepping away from the traditional view of passive consumers. In addition to this the use of pre modified filters means that users are all producing similar looking content, something that professional photographers step away from, Instagram therefore may only be creating the impression that it is allowing the creation of professional content, when in actual fact the level of professionalism is still limited to the tools that they give the user to modify their content.
The explore button shows you the most popular photos and gives the user a chance to see photos from people they don't follow and people they do, it also has a recommended list of people for you to follow and celebrities that you haven't followed. The search option allows the user to search popular hashtags and usernames of their friends, The use of hashtags on Instagram collects photos that have all have the same hashtags allowing users to search for images, and also creates trends with popular hashtags. Hashtags could be said to be a useful tool in which users can actively participate in the sharing and searching of media, this opens a new door in the marketing of media products. "We are moving away from a world in which some produce and many consume media toward one in which everyone has an active stake in the culture that is produced." (Jenkins) It could be said that due to the hashtag trends on Instagram, the most popular photos are chosen by the users, therefore meaning we are in control over what is most likely to be seen by other users. In addition to this users are actively in control over what they search on Instagram. They can however create their own hashtag trends to encourage users to create and share their content, although this still depends on the use of user participation to make this work, something many producers don't seem to be accepting and using to their advantage as Jenkins says "Corporations imagine participation as something they can start and stop,reroute, commodify and market" (Jenkins 2001) with this in mind, could it be said that although they appear to be accepting audience participation they still feel they have full control?
Geotagging is another popular feature of Instagram, Users can tag themselves and others in certain places, which is also another way of collecting images in an organised fashion, other photos with the same geo tag will be put into a folder which will open when anybody clicks on the place tags, The way in which Instagram can archive content in an organised way using geotags and hashtags means a wide variety of information can be accessed at the touch of a button furthering "the growth of media conglomorates." Can Instagram be used as more than just a social media app this is something producers need to think carefully about and take advantage of rather than get lost in the powerstruggle between themselves and the audience.
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