Instagram: je suis là?

SOURCE: http://oursocialtimes.com/instagram-to-share-user-data-with-facebook/

 The paper titled Instagram: je suis là? by independent scholar Charlotte Champion (2012) examines how the modern camera phone has given rise to new forms of photographic agency. Champion's inquiry into instant visual communication by means of the smartphone application Instagram highlights, in particular, the sharing function that it offers.

In many ways, Instagram mimics the functions and features of a social network, allowing users to share fragments of their everyday lives through live photo-sharing and tagging. The role of photography in identity formation and social communication is particularly salient in this instance: the capabilities of the camera phone  combined with the power of the application as a social network resulted a distinct overlap in the public, private and personal spheres. 

Champion argues that despite its seemingly narcissistic qualities, photo-sharing on Instagram is nevertheless a socially important communication ritual linked to intimacy,  the need for continuous documentation and the preservation of time. 

She concludes that everyday events and experiences are mere "antecedents"to an uploaded image. "The photograph uploaded is no longer 'about' conquering the distance between people across time to show them what has been", she writes."

Instagram Introduces New Video Feature

SOURCE: http://blog.instagram.com/post/57626639051/instagram-4-1

Instagram now enables users to upload video content stored on their mobile phones. The new feature has the potential to generate an increased diversity of mobile media content, from pre-recorded video clips, music videos or film clips to self-made video produced using a cellphone camera. Instagram 4.1. was announced on the application's blog on 7 August, 2013. A selection of pre-loaded filters are available for users to edit and customise their videos before posting them to the platform. 

The updated version of the popular mobile application presents a heightened gamification aspect, enabling increased user interaction with the platform. The video option enhances the application's capacity to create image-driven narratives and visual stories of human experience, documenting large-scale news events and connecting a mass audience through shared visual experiences. 

Mashable has an excellent article about how brands are using this feature to reach a networked mobile audience. 

“Since the launch of Video on Instagram this has been the Android community’s number-one request, and we’re excited to see this community grow,” the company announced.