Feed. Stories. DMs. Does it all still have the magic?
Or has it been ruined by brands, wannabe influencers, and orgs that live and die by their website’s traffic?
We’ve written at length about how Instagram at one time was forging creative communities, exploration, creativity in Buffalo and Rochester, and across the country. It’s still doing that, but man it has gotten crowded with a load of utter crap.
Where likes used to mean something, the biggest accounts in town have seemingly gotten there through buying bots to like anything and everything (even the crude offensive shit) on select hashtags.
Comments used to be genuine, and but now they’re coming from the same bot farms that a barber shop you’ve never heard of employs, commenting on the picture you took of your meal with the same copy, paste “I like your style. You know what – I’m gonna follow you.”
COOL.
Instagram wasn’t supposed to be making you feel bad for not working out, for not eating vegan. And it definitely was not supposed to become meme central where some hollow account that posts every 30 seconds can reel in the engagement by altering the text on a MAGA hat to gripe about local highway speeds.
There are still orgs working to hold communities together.
On the scene since the very beginning, the team behind @igersbuffalo has consistently gathered people from all different backgrounds, ages and abilities to explore spaces, chat about the medium, and support each other.
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#repost @sarahgarbin ・・・ Congrats to @seekaxiom for having another AMAZING event @solisbuffalo ✨
Brain child of local photographer Ryan Kell, (@seekaxiom), @solis is a reoccuring themed photography event that dresses up models in over the top scenery, dousing them all in gold, feathers, blood, and anything else you can think of. They then invite photographers to come in and direct some mini shoots with everyone else. Solis has recently expanded its operation, bringing Instagram back to its roots and issuing themed photo challenges for its members. Open to all, it’s a ton of fun to join in on and get back to what made Instagram so great to begin with.
Buffalo Bloggers, the ever growing project of Lindsay Robson, (@nickelcitypretty) was an early realization that local bloggers were going to be stuck in their own small circles without a huge budget, huge break, or the support of their peers. Robson laid the groundwork for that peer support and now donates the power of the network she’s built to local small businesses, arts institutions, or non profits by inviting her team and friends to come and do activities, take photos, drink and eat in a rotating series of ongoing events. Check them out on Facebook for even more interaction.
#RISEBFLO still churning
While not entirely dominated by vape companies, some wild brands have caught notice of the trend up in the hashtag we’ve been running since 2014. We’ve tried to return to the classic contributions from high and low experience photographers in a quick round up of eight favorites from the last couple months. People posting what they found, what they staged, but not bragging about what they’ve done. Keep this good shit coming, and remember to interact with the people whose posts you love, beyond just the double click.
Re-entering the Theme and Contest on Instagram game ourselves.
All this week, through Thursday May 30, we’re inviting you to post anything you want, a selfie or something staged, your kid, your dog, your mom. Anyway you all listen to our podcast, LIFTED, to a public Instagram account’s feed, you’ll be entered to win Rise snapbacks and T shirts. Just use #LIFTEDpodcast in your copy. Here’s more:
