. | . |
'I selfie, therefore I am': Instagram 10 years on By Alexandra DEL PERAL Paris (AFP) Oct 2, 2020 #Foodporn, #nofilter and #TBT: Little known to the general public a decade ago, Instagram has weaved its way into the daily lives of a billion people, changing the way we eat, travel and consume. On October 6, 2010 two Americans, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, launched Instagram as a social network dedicated to photo sharing. The novelty? The app offered filters to adjust brightness, contrast and colour to create the perfect photo in an instant. It had immediate success. The app was bought by Facebook two years after its launch, and by that time it had become the world's most popular platform for uploading endless streams of selfies and had its own stars, Instagirls such as fashion blogger Chiara Ferragni with 21 million followers and Kylie Jenner of the Kardashian clan with 196 million followers. Exhibitions, dinners, people on public transport or on vacation, every corner had become a backdrop for capturing a self portrait for public consumption. "We have entered the era of 'the internet reality' where one can only exist through what one publishes on social networks. I selfie, therefore I am," said Michael Stora, psychologist and president of the French research collective Observatory of Digital Worlds in Humanities (OMNSH). Ten years on from its launch, Instagram has evolved far beyond selfies, as it redefines "experiences" and blurs the lines between reality and someone's carefully curated personal brand. - Virtual storefronts - The success of Instagram and selfies didn't escape the notice of brands. One of the top selfies of the 2014 Oscars including a beaming Ellen DeGeneres, Jennifer Lawrence and Brad Pitt was taken on a smarthphone made by event sponsor Samsung. The app has become the preferred platform for luxury brands, particularly fast-fashion labels which have developed powerful digital marketing strategies to attract millions of users on the platform. A shopping function introduced last year has turned Instagram into an e-commerce site, allowing companies to use their profiles as virtual storefronts so users can shop and pay without ever leaving the app. It has also launched countless careers of digital "influencers" who churn out daily content to their loyal followers, striking endorsement deals along the way. "They send me the product and I provide all the service around it... Brands no longer need to call on an advertising agency. We take care of everything," said Pauline Privez, a 36-year-old fashion and beauty influencer since 2009. Instagram has also made luxury brands more accessible, as they are able to interact daily with users through their own accounts, said fashion historian Audrey Millet. "By freely publishing content they open up to everyone, shedding the image of snobbery that has been attached to them," Millet said. - Travel guides - The application has also revolutionised the dining experience. Restaurateurs can count on carefully staged photos of their dishes, or moody shots within their cosy interiors to attract new clients. It is even possible to reserve a table at some restaurants directly through the app. Instagram has become a place to search for inspiration in the kitchen, where anyone can access the recipes of famous chefs who have invested heavily in the platform, such as Jamie Oliver who is followed by 8.3 million people and posts new recipes daily. Maelle Bourras, a Parisian in her 30s, follows "about 15 chefs" including Alain Passard, who has half a million subscribers, and Cyril Lignac, with 2.5 million. "On weekends I try to reproduce some of their creations. It's free and accessible, and allows me to vary from the usual dishes," Bourras said. Others use Instagram to choose their next vacation, and tourist offices rely heavily on content creators to promote their destinations. Digital influencers like Privez publish their "experiences" and in return are paid, in addition to the free trips. Privez, who has 140,000 subscribers, makes between six and seven "sponsored trips" per year, "not counting the two-day press trips", she said. Around the world, museums and pop-up "experiences" are increasingly offering interactive installations solely for visitors to take selfies and post them on Instagram and other social media platforms. - Pressure for perfection - Not all social media celebrities are in it for the money. Sylvain Hawawini, known as Dr Shawa Vet to his 107,000 followers, poses with animals in hundreds of photos from locations around the world, so that others can "discover landscapes or places still little known". The insatiable quest for Instagram "likes" has made the platform addictive for some, and can have devastating effects, particularly for younger people, said psychologist Stora. Instagram gives teenagers a false sense of reality and pressure for perfection "that they cannot live up to", he said. Influencers can feel the pressure as well. "I am forced to stay with it for my professional life, but in my personal life, I am becoming more and more detached from it," Privez said. adm/may/erc/rl/ach
Google unveils new Pixel handsets with 5G wireless Washington (AFP) Sept 30, 2020 Google on Wednesday unveiled two new smartphones with 5G wireless capability under its Pixel brand, which showcases the Android mobile system but has limited market share. The new Pixel 5 will start at $699 for US customers and its reduced-price Pixel 4a with 5G at $499, the California tech giant announced at a streamed event. The phones will be available from October 15 in the US and other markets. The new handsets are "packing more helpful Google features into phones backed by the power an ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |