thoughts
Instagram is certainly the talk of the town at the moment. Every day i see more and more people on the creation side i.e bloggers, influencers even businesses complain about the changing instagram algorithms. And rightly so because some algorithm which you have no clue about decides whether your post should be shown to your followers. Sounds absurd right!! Also offending and a hazard to creativity. How can technology decide the worth of creative content? Its for humans. Not even bothered with the other people how do you not show it to people who have chosen to follow me? They follow because they like my work. Sadly Instagram has a mind of its own and ever since the chronological Instagram feed was changed its become a forever case of struggle with Instagram algorithms.
But first what is this Instagram frenzy? Its turned into a high net worth industry where serious money is being made, great! but if we see its just an app and it was all great and still is if kept to the level of an app. An app for bloggers like me to find audience to share my work with, an app for business to find its customers, an app for people to keep in touch with their friends and family, an app to find inspiration, an app to know whats up in/with the field/people of our liking. All good there, the problems started and what is now being termed as an Instagram bubble, when people started thinking of it as life. Some people started living their lives on instagram some started living for instagram and most believe that life on instagram is true life.
For bloggers it turned from a medium to find audience to share their work and drive traffic to their sites into a medium where they could have power and influence and subsequently monetize that influence. Earlier the content was created for brands and blogs and also shared on social media, instagram being one of them now the content is being created just for Instagram and more and more for it.
Now with all that said here is why we need to grip it and keep our affections for instagarm to the level of a useful app and not even a step further.
- It is an app, its technology, realize. What if a bug comes and it completely crashes. Its no secret that all accounts on instagram get bugged. Cant like, can’t follow, posts not showing on hashtags, etc etc are all bugs and all accounts specially the business accounts go through them. We loose our sleep and mind on those now imagine if the account is completely gone!!!
- Instagram is a business and for every business profit is as much an objective as is creating value. Instagram is no different. So it comes up with changes the so called Instagram algorithms that it thinks will make people spend more time on it aka keep them hooked onto it which translates to more money for Instagram. Now this is the reality that we all need to accept. Instagram is although for us it is also for itself.
- Instagram world is not the real world, it might be close but it is not exactly what goes on in real life. Important for everyone including us on the content side who create for Instagram but still belittle ourselves with comparisons with what we see on other peoples feed. The feed is curated well crafted even i don’t post pictures that don’t go with my feed so hell no.
- For bloggers there are better mediums to drive traffic to their site like Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, stumble upon, medium and above all the search engines like google, etc.
- Its not a good idea to base your business on a product that is not yours. So if blogging is your business realize that only earning from Instagram is a huge risk. Instagram is gone you are gone. If you are an Instagram influencer branch out.
Also i feel its important that all of us realize our own power, its all in us we are the drivers of Instagram. Today if we close our account it was nothing was it ever anything? Yes it does help us with the promotions for our blogs and businesses hence is part of the game keep it at that don't make it the game. Realize its only an app not reality let alone life and should thus not be taken as one.
Has the Instagram bubble touched you? Hope this post is helpful, thank you for stopping by, see you with my next.
Suggested posts - The pressures of being a content creator
Love
Chichi
Why instagram obsession needs to stop
Instagram is certainly the talk of the town at the moment. Every day i see more and more people on the creation side i.e bloggers, influencers even businesses complain about the changing instagram algorithms. And rightly so because some algorithm which you have no clue about decides whether your post should be shown to your followers. Sounds absurd right!! Also offending and a hazard to creativity. How can technology decide the worth of creative content? Its for humans. Not even bothered with the other people how do you not show it to people who have chosen to follow me? They follow because they like my work. Sadly Instagram has a mind of its own and ever since the chronological Instagram feed was changed its become a forever case of struggle with Instagram algorithms.
But first what is this Instagram frenzy? Its turned into a high net worth industry where serious money is being made, great! but if we see its just an app and it was all great and still is if kept to the level of an app. An app for bloggers like me to find audience to share my work with, an app for business to find its customers, an app for people to keep in touch with their friends and family, an app to find inspiration, an app to know whats up in/with the field/people of our liking. All good there, the problems started and what is now being termed as an Instagram bubble, when people started thinking of it as life. Some people started living their lives on instagram some started living for instagram and most believe that life on instagram is true life.
For bloggers it turned from a medium to find audience to share their work and drive traffic to their sites into a medium where they could have power and influence and subsequently monetize that influence. Earlier the content was created for brands and blogs and also shared on social media, instagram being one of them now the content is being created just for Instagram and more and more for it.
Now with all that said here is why we need to grip it and keep our affections for instagarm to the level of a useful app and not even a step further.
- It is an app, its technology, realize. What if a bug comes and it completely crashes. Its no secret that all accounts on instagram get bugged. Cant like, can’t follow, posts not showing on hashtags, etc etc are all bugs and all accounts specially the business accounts go through them. We loose our sleep and mind on those now imagine if the account is completely gone!!!
- Instagram is a business and for every business profit is as much an objective as is creating value. Instagram is no different. So it comes up with changes the so called Instagram algorithms that it thinks will make people spend more time on it aka keep them hooked onto it which translates to more money for Instagram. Now this is the reality that we all need to accept. Instagram is although for us it is also for itself.
- Instagram world is not the real world, it might be close but it is not exactly what goes on in real life. Important for everyone including us on the content side who create for Instagram but still belittle ourselves with comparisons with what we see on other peoples feed. The feed is curated well crafted even i don’t post pictures that don’t go with my feed so hell no.
- For bloggers there are better mediums to drive traffic to their site like Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, stumble upon, medium and above all the search engines like google, etc.
- Its not a good idea to base your business on a product that is not yours. So if blogging is your business realize that only earning from Instagram is a huge risk. Instagram is gone you are gone. If you are an Instagram influencer branch out.
Also i feel its important that all of us realize our own power, its all in us we are the drivers of Instagram. Today if we close our account it was nothing was it ever anything? Yes it does help us with the promotions for our blogs and businesses hence is part of the game keep it at that don't make it the game. Realize its only an app not reality let alone life and should thus not be taken as one.
Has the Instagram bubble touched you? Hope this post is helpful, thank you for stopping by, see you with my next.
Suggested posts - The pressures of being a content creator
Love
Chichi
Content my most frequently used word but also a word i am slowly becoming not a fan of. Chichi what are you saying you are a content creator!! Yes i am, the pictures for my blog, instagram and brands, the posts i write and the captions i use, all content and i take it very seriously but it has made me into a zombie of looking at everything from the point of view of use and share sooner or later.
A constant case of photo taking, capturing every moment even the minutest. Not just moments that are happening but creating moments for use. How does that sound? It was said you are not really experiencing the moment if you are trying to capture it through a lens, well this is not through the lens but for the lens. Although we are living in an age where anything not shot and shared with the world hasn’t really happened even the people who call themselves very private share when they travel to a new place or whatever that they find happening be it through pictures on instagram, Facebook and the likes or now stories. Imagine the pressure on a content creator, its tremendous to say the least. We get seriously disappointed if we haven’t taken good/ enough pictures of any experience. Our happiness potion depends not on the experience but with the content that we have created out of that. Every place i go to and every person i meet is looked from the point of view of content. If not for the blogpost, for instagram and if not for that maybe story, its out of hand. Sometimes i feel its a waste of money and time if i am not able to take enough share worthy or call instagram worthy pictures. And this is life i am talking about, everyday life.
Lets take this day for e.g. pictures shot at beautiful Aubaine selfridges. Me and my lovely friend Zahra planned to have breakfast at Aubaine not because we love breakfast at aubaine but because it is extremely beautiful and photographs come as dreamy as they get. Nothing wrong till here, most girls think this way these days. Now we planned to reach a little early so we can find the place empty, perfect setting for photo ops. I was running 10 mins late for some reason i don’t remember now, i should confess that more than making Zahra wait i was worried about the place getting filled which translates to missed photo ops. Luckily for us it wasn’t as full and an instagram savy couple cleared a table so we could take the best shots, shots you see here. But man the stressful state i was in, fear that i might not be able to capture something as imagined. Well Zahra was pissed at me too, but not just because she had to wait for me but also infact more because our photo taking wouldn’t go as per plan. I find it sad that making my friend wait was less of a guilt.
Holidays is taken to another level, at the mo i feel i haven’t had a holiday in like forever. Ok Chichi you have been to so many, we know. Well yes but i have been working on all, my mind has worked throughout finding the best spots and capturing each experience to the fullest on film. I haven’t even for a day zoomed out of the process, let alone relax and chill. What holidays are meant to be.
We used to go to restaurants, order and eat our food. Now we go to restaurants and no matter how hungry we start by first taking pictures of our table or the restaurant. Then the food comes we have specifically asked it to bring it all together so we can take pictures, good pictures, picture taking starts from every damn angle and then some boomerang and now for vlogs and stories some video. Its been 20 mins or more and the chips have become all soggy, the toast is no more crisp and the tea is cold. But we eat and drink without complain like its the most delicious meal ever because we have to make a video of how much we enjoy our food.
If your companion to the restaurant or holiday or wherever happens to be a blogger you are still ok, but if its your boyfriend or husband or brother or sister or friend you have annoyed them to hell. Imagine on a holiday you are at a beautiful sunset point and all you do is take pictures or make videos of it and then ask your partner to do the same with you in those pictures and videos, the plight of the partner. Vaibhav told me 2 years back he doesn't want to go on holidays if its only obsessed with blog and social media. Totally get that!!
The case of our time is we want to see everything and we want to show everything, its FOMO too.
At this point i feel i owe it to the people who follow me to keep it interested, entertained and inspired. They follow me for those things and i should feed them that and constant picture taking ensures i never run out.
Having said everything i believe life is about memories and not everything can be content. Like the walks with my partner, the mad laughs with my sisters, maybe i can pick my phone and capture 15 seconds of it but i shouldnt and actually can’t capture all the seconds of those 2 or whatever hours. As a content creator / blogger finding the work life balance is extremely hard but extremely critical for our sanity.
I started writing this post in Delhi and as luck would have it, finishing it in Benares- the spiritual capital of India. The city that is older than history, older than tradition, even older than legend and looks double as old as all those combined. A dream for a content creator and well i have reached for my phone for videos and pictures but capturing has not been my first and last and only emotion!! The bigger picture matters more than any frame, sealed in the land of mediation and liberation, Varanasi.
Would love to know your thoughts, see you with my next.
Love
Chichi
The pressures of being a content creator
Content my most frequently used word but also a word i am slowly becoming not a fan of. Chichi what are you saying you are a content creator!! Yes i am, the pictures for my blog, instagram and brands, the posts i write and the captions i use, all content and i take it very seriously but it has made me into a zombie of looking at everything from the point of view of use and share sooner or later.
A constant case of photo taking, capturing every moment even the minutest. Not just moments that are happening but creating moments for use. How does that sound? It was said you are not really experiencing the moment if you are trying to capture it through a lens, well this is not through the lens but for the lens. Although we are living in an age where anything not shot and shared with the world hasn’t really happened even the people who call themselves very private share when they travel to a new place or whatever that they find happening be it through pictures on instagram, Facebook and the likes or now stories. Imagine the pressure on a content creator, its tremendous to say the least. We get seriously disappointed if we haven’t taken good/ enough pictures of any experience. Our happiness potion depends not on the experience but with the content that we have created out of that. Every place i go to and every person i meet is looked from the point of view of content. If not for the blogpost, for instagram and if not for that maybe story, its out of hand. Sometimes i feel its a waste of money and time if i am not able to take enough share worthy or call instagram worthy pictures. And this is life i am talking about, everyday life.
Lets take this day for e.g. pictures shot at beautiful Aubaine selfridges. Me and my lovely friend Zahra planned to have breakfast at Aubaine not because we love breakfast at aubaine but because it is extremely beautiful and photographs come as dreamy as they get. Nothing wrong till here, most girls think this way these days. Now we planned to reach a little early so we can find the place empty, perfect setting for photo ops. I was running 10 mins late for some reason i don’t remember now, i should confess that more than making Zahra wait i was worried about the place getting filled which translates to missed photo ops. Luckily for us it wasn’t as full and an instagram savy couple cleared a table so we could take the best shots, shots you see here. But man the stressful state i was in, fear that i might not be able to capture something as imagined. Well Zahra was pissed at me too, but not just because she had to wait for me but also infact more because our photo taking wouldn’t go as per plan. I find it sad that making my friend wait was less of a guilt.
Holidays is taken to another level, at the mo i feel i haven’t had a holiday in like forever. Ok Chichi you have been to so many, we know. Well yes but i have been working on all, my mind has worked throughout finding the best spots and capturing each experience to the fullest on film. I haven’t even for a day zoomed out of the process, let alone relax and chill. What holidays are meant to be.
We used to go to restaurants, order and eat our food. Now we go to restaurants and no matter how hungry we start by first taking pictures of our table or the restaurant. Then the food comes we have specifically asked it to bring it all together so we can take pictures, good pictures, picture taking starts from every damn angle and then some boomerang and now for vlogs and stories some video. Its been 20 mins or more and the chips have become all soggy, the toast is no more crisp and the tea is cold. But we eat and drink without complain like its the most delicious meal ever because we have to make a video of how much we enjoy our food.
If your companion to the restaurant or holiday or wherever happens to be a blogger you are still ok, but if its your boyfriend or husband or brother or sister or friend you have annoyed them to hell. Imagine on a holiday you are at a beautiful sunset point and all you do is take pictures or make videos of it and then ask your partner to do the same with you in those pictures and videos, the plight of the partner. Vaibhav told me 2 years back he doesn't want to go on holidays if its only obsessed with blog and social media. Totally get that!!
The case of our time is we want to see everything and we want to show everything, its FOMO too.
At this point i feel i owe it to the people who follow me to keep it interested, entertained and inspired. They follow me for those things and i should feed them that and constant picture taking ensures i never run out.
Having said everything i believe life is about memories and not everything can be content. Like the walks with my partner, the mad laughs with my sisters, maybe i can pick my phone and capture 15 seconds of it but i shouldnt and actually can’t capture all the seconds of those 2 or whatever hours. As a content creator / blogger finding the work life balance is extremely hard but extremely critical for our sanity.
I started writing this post in Delhi and as luck would have it, finishing it in Benares- the spiritual capital of India. The city that is older than history, older than tradition, even older than legend and looks double as old as all those combined. A dream for a content creator and well i have reached for my phone for videos and pictures but capturing has not been my first and last and only emotion!! The bigger picture matters more than any frame, sealed in the land of mediation and liberation, Varanasi.
Would love to know your thoughts, see you with my next.
Love
Chichi
It's given, if I meet you for the first time I am not going to tell you i am a blogger, or anything about my online self. I would mostly say I am on time off or i write for a website or something like that. If at all i do tell you there is no way i am going to share what my blog name or social media handles are unless and until you are a person related to this field or in my opinion have the sensibility to understand it. Why??? Two reasons.
- Even in 2017, well 2018 now, people don't get it. Some are oblivious to the word. Some think it's not really an occupation and only a pastime. It's just free clothes and makeup. A person becomes a blogger for fame and not love for the profession. And a zillion other absurd opinions. Some actually not entirely the persons fault because a lot of girls take to blogging only for the social media fame. But they are not bloggers or content creators. It's also been really hard for me to explain what exactly I do to my extended family and I feel it takes a lot of patience to explain what I do so to just avoid that energy loss I take the easier path.
- If I meet someone for the first time I don't want to tell them about my online self and give access to so much about me. I mean I feel it should be fair you know me as much as I know you but if you have access to my online self you know much more about me than I know about you. Ok even though I am the same person you see and read here on the blog and social media but it's all curated. Real life me even though the same is not exactly the same. Even on instastories that are the closest to what my life is but they are just 1 min from 1440 mins in a day that I chose to share with you. So your judgements about me based on what you see and read on the blog and social media are not going to be right, so why create the confusion. I have also heard from my friends that both sexes decide on whether they want to meet a girl or boy again based on what they see of them on social media. My term for such boys is LAME BOYS and girls is LAME GIRLS. I mean like seriously. A girl i recently met on the train told me ( i like to chat with anyone and everyone and do a bit of a research) that she would not want to be friends with a blogger because if they go somewhere fancy the blogger would ask her to take pictures of herself (lol obviously i hadn't told her i was a blogger)!!!
Basically its all about judging. Some don't know what a blogger means and some who do will stereotype. And some will think they know you in and out just from your online personality. All ridiculous. So let there be a couple of meetings, let there be a fair play before i tell you i am XYZ.
Thank you for stopping by! See you with my next.
Suggested posts - The pressures of being a content creator
Love
Chichi
Why I don't tell anyone new I meet I am a blogger
It's given, if I meet you for the first time I am not going to tell you i am a blogger, or anything about my online self. I would mostly say I am on time off or i write for a website or something like that. If at all i do tell you there is no way i am going to share what my blog name or social media handles are unless and until you are a person related to this field or in my opinion have the sensibility to understand it. Why??? Two reasons.
- Even in 2017, well 2018 now, people don't get it. Some are oblivious to the word. Some think it's not really an occupation and only a pastime. It's just free clothes and makeup. A person becomes a blogger for fame and not love for the profession. And a zillion other absurd opinions. Some actually not entirely the persons fault because a lot of girls take to blogging only for the social media fame. But they are not bloggers or content creators. It's also been really hard for me to explain what exactly I do to my extended family and I feel it takes a lot of patience to explain what I do so to just avoid that energy loss I take the easier path.
- If I meet someone for the first time I don't want to tell them about my online self and give access to so much about me. I mean I feel it should be fair you know me as much as I know you but if you have access to my online self you know much more about me than I know about you. Ok even though I am the same person you see and read here on the blog and social media but it's all curated. Real life me even though the same is not exactly the same. Even on instastories that are the closest to what my life is but they are just 1 min from 1440 mins in a day that I chose to share with you. So your judgements about me based on what you see and read on the blog and social media are not going to be right, so why create the confusion. I have also heard from my friends that both sexes decide on whether they want to meet a girl or boy again based on what they see of them on social media. My term for such boys is LAME BOYS and girls is LAME GIRLS. I mean like seriously. A girl i recently met on the train told me ( i like to chat with anyone and everyone and do a bit of a research) that she would not want to be friends with a blogger because if they go somewhere fancy the blogger would ask her to take pictures of herself (lol obviously i hadn't told her i was a blogger)!!!
Basically its all about judging. Some don't know what a blogger means and some who do will stereotype. And some will think they know you in and out just from your online personality. All ridiculous. So let there be a couple of meetings, let there be a fair play before i tell you i am XYZ.
Thank you for stopping by! See you with my next.
Suggested posts - The pressures of being a content creator
Love
Chichi
I am one for celebrations so i always look forward to festivals and holidays but i realize they can be a hard time for people with any level of grief or sadness. I think all of us have or do just different levels and times. Could be breakup, or death or finance or loneliness or work or any sort of loss. Its not always glittery and sparkly and warm and cheerful. You want to be left alone and all the merry making to not be banged on your face, like literally. The decorations and festive cheer act more as reminders of the grief than anything else. Ah and social media overflowing with warmth to the point of disturbing. I mean the content is just so sickly sweet. And sometimes its nothing specific or wrong but you just want to keep low but the constant reminders 'x no of days left for diwali or christmas or eid' or whatever that is!!! 'have you decided what you are wearing?' 'what are you shopping for xyz blah blah blah', won't leave you. The traditions bite. Consumerism at its peak, i mean people spending more than they would ever earn in the next two months, its ridiculous. And then come the falsehoods of people acting and going far beyond their own happiness, its never 24x7 joy after all.
If you are going through any form of stress and not in the mood do everything to protect yourself. Like staying away from social media or whatever that adds to your stress. Be open just say you are not in the mood or you don't want to. Don't think just because it is some festival you owe it to it or anyone to celebrate or do something.
And for others be mindful of what you are saying, doing and putting up around festivals. Your state of mind and level of well being might not be others so care and be real. Sensitivity to others perspective is also a form of celebration after all!! Includes me, includes all of us.
Thank you for stopping by, see you with my next.
Love Chichi
A letter to the celebrators of festivals and holidays
I am one for celebrations so i always look forward to festivals and holidays but i realize they can be a hard time for people with any level of grief or sadness. I think all of us have or do just different levels and times. Could be breakup, or death or finance or loneliness or work or any sort of loss. Its not always glittery and sparkly and warm and cheerful. You want to be left alone and all the merry making to not be banged on your face, like literally. The decorations and festive cheer act more as reminders of the grief than anything else. Ah and social media overflowing with warmth to the point of disturbing. I mean the content is just so sickly sweet. And sometimes its nothing specific or wrong but you just want to keep low but the constant reminders 'x no of days left for diwali or christmas or eid' or whatever that is!!! 'have you decided what you are wearing?' 'what are you shopping for xyz blah blah blah', won't leave you. The traditions bite. Consumerism at its peak, i mean people spending more than they would ever earn in the next two months, its ridiculous. And then come the falsehoods of people acting and going far beyond their own happiness, its never 24x7 joy after all.
If you are going through any form of stress and not in the mood do everything to protect yourself. Like staying away from social media or whatever that adds to your stress. Be open just say you are not in the mood or you don't want to. Don't think just because it is some festival you owe it to it or anyone to celebrate or do something.
And for others be mindful of what you are saying, doing and putting up around festivals. Your state of mind and level of well being might not be others so care and be real. Sensitivity to others perspective is also a form of celebration after all!! Includes me, includes all of us.
Thank you for stopping by, see you with my next.
Love Chichi
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