Instagram knows how to shake things up, or what?
In light of the latest Terms of Service and Private Policy, I was with other countless IG enthusiasts, trying to decide whether to close my account. I was in fear of seeing random IG photos of my twins in a remote Turkish family day care advertisement.
It’s been known to happen.
However, as a response to the feedback they’ve received, IG’s co-founder, Kevin Systrom released a statement this morning to clarify their intentions.
I believe IG when they say we won’t be seeing ghastly ad banners dominating our feeds, or that our photos will be sold or used for such purposes. They’re going to be a lot more innovative than that.
Ultimately, IG is a safe and protected community. I personally think that it’s their big differentiator from other social media channels. The close knit, interactive circles that IG users have created is the value proposition that will interest potential advertisers.
Let’s say, I followed a big fashion label’s account. These retailers will want to know more about my consumer behaviour (what other fashion labels do I follow, where do I shop, etc.).
My guess is that it’s our meta data (account details, activity, profile photos) that IG’s advertisers are interested in, not necessarily our photos.
In the interim, I’m going to take some small precautions:
Make sure I have a back up of all my IG photos
Theoretically, IG photos go straight to your camera roll and saved there. However, I’ve had many instances where my photo might appear on the IG feed but it never made it to my camera roll.
It’s a tedious task, but for those missing photos, I go to the Web.sta.gram or the Instagram website and download them from there.
Also, in case you do decide to close your IG account on the 16th of January, remember that unlike Facebook where you can retrieve an inactive account, all data will be wiped clean.
So, make sure you have all your photos on file before you make the decision either way.
Watermark my photos
There’s an iTunes app called iWatermark that I just downloaded and trialed. It’s simple to use. I’ve been meaning to watermark my photos for awhile so now is a good time as any. If anything, it’s a safeguard.
Be mindful
This rule is a no-brainer and obviously it applies to all forms of social media. For instance, did you know that even if you have your privacy settings locked and loaded, once you add a hashtag to your IG photo, it becomes public?
Yet, with its lack of spammers and trolls, I have felt safe enough to be extremely carefree with what I post, particularly with photos of my children. For now, I’m thinking of toning them down. Stinky after gym selfies and IG parties on the other hand…
I don’t want to close my account. It would seriously feel like chopping off my right limb.
In using something for free, the trade off is to give up some personal details.
That’s the reality of combining social media and internet marketing.
As long as IG remaining transparent with their changes and I keep proactive in protecting my account and intellectual property, I think (for now), there’s little to worry about.
Are you going to close your account? What would you add to my list?
I won’t be closing mine, I like the community I’ve found there.. unless everyone else leaves and then its no fun, then I might consider stopping.
I hashtag so people can see them, so if it was used anywhere, I wouldn’t mind, but I think it is important for everyone to understand the terms and conditions for anything they sign up to, and fully agree to them!
That youtube clip CRACKED ME UP.
All of it is so true (My cat thinks it’s people, too, by the way.)
Mandie recently posted..…And Then This Happened
That is the funniest parody I’ve seen in a long while, not least for the reason that I have actually IG’ed a shot of my cat with sunglasses on her head. HOWEVER the 5yo put them there and I found it by surprise… so that’s my defence!
I’m undecided, I need to look at everything out there, Flickr, and now I’m hearing of @eyeEm… So despite the WTFtacular backflip blog “we are listening” today etc I’m just not sure yet. I feel very strongly about the future of IP, despite the many (jaded?) people calling First World Problems on IG outrage. I’m thinking bigger picture overall- look where music and movies are at today.
Twitchy recently posted..Birthday Cake and Magic Bubble Balloons
I am too busy with the kids and Christmas to even read it! It’s all passing me by. Might look into watermarking, although I decided to stop using watermarks on the blog. Maybe if I ignore the issue it’ll go away!?? But I guess the sad truth is that we’re living in a very commercial world and none of these groovy innovations will ever be ‘free’ to use for long.
Seana Smith recently posted..On The Road With A Jucy Campervan + The Kids
I was quite happy to see that update from Systrom. I wasn’t thinking about closing my account but I have re-thought the amount of photos I post of Mia. I will be a little more careful in the future though definitely and following any changes closely.
Kylez @ A Study in Contradictions recently posted..Wordless Wednesday – 12 Months
That is definitely food for thought, I didn’t even know about the changes. I think technology and social media is moving so fast and it’s a little scary, especially for someone like me, who’s not overly tech savvy – yet 🙂
Emily recently posted..Our cherubs enjoying Christmas for Wordless Wednesday
I love that clip, in fact College Humour does some freakin’ hysterical parody videos (Mitt Romney Style was too funny).
I constantly toy with making my IG photos private and creating an account that is just for the blogs but can’t be dealing with all the log in/out crap. I’m thinking the watermark option is going to be the safest. I stopped watermarking blog photos because of the extra time involved… plus they can be super ugly or cropped out easily anyway – visually they’re distracting and I just plain don’t like them. I’m thinking though, that with your kids you just can’t take chances. I’ve no idea what I’m going to do about it all in the long run.
Plus then you have all the IP / licencing issues – I have no problem with being asked if an image of mine can be used but I’d want right to refuse and possibly remuneration for the opportunity… it’s an icky, sticky minefield.
Kyla @ Three Quarters Full recently posted..Teacher Appreciation – Wordless Wednesday
I haven’t ever been on Instagram so I don’t think I will bother registering for it either, it all sounds a bit techy and complicated for me. But as soon as I read your post I have just gone and downloaded iwatermark. I have never heard of it before but I will be using it from now on. What a great idea I can’t believe I have never heard of it. Good job I read your post hey!! Thanks for the info. 🙂
rhian @melbs recently posted..Note to self – Tidy up my knickers!
This whole thing is really interesting. I don’t have insta technology yet, but it was really high on my reasons for upgrading my smart phone, and now I’m wondering whether to or not to…
Danya Banya recently posted..Christmas is about more than just ‘mere’ presents
Photos get stolen for ads all the time. Have done so for years. Well before Instagram. Not fussed. Hi think Instagram used bad wording and unnecessarily panicked people.
Kim-Marie from Kimba Likes recently posted..Kimba Likes 2012 : The Year That Was
Not on instagram (no surprises there, given my lack of tech ability) but I’m extremely cautious on fb and blogs. I need the watermark thingo as online magazines ask for that when submitting articles…in the too hard basket for now…
Lydia c lee recently posted..Lupine Adventures – Currawong Beach Cottages
For some reason every time when Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or any social media outlet updates their T&Cs and everyone goes ballistic about lost rights, etc, I don’t worry about it. I guess I’m lazy and hope that the masses out there (eg other users, media, privacy advocates) will cause a fuss and things return to normal programming…
I’m not leaving. I doubt anyone would want my photos anyway.
Loved that YouTube clip. Made my day!
V.
Vanessa @ babblingbandit.me recently posted..BB parenting fail: Internet safety (with giveaway!)
Thanks for this post, very informative especially the iwatermark app. I’ve been meaning to start watermarking too but it’s another thing on that list of things I never get round to doing! I’ll be getting that app today. (hopefully if I remember 😉
Mama Stylista recently posted..Online Find of The Week ~ Ten Dollar Baby!
Okay – that video was hysterical. Personally, I don’t get the whole craze with Instagram – I like my pictures to look cheesy and not reflect my Japanese camera clicking genes at all…(I’m still laughing over that duck).
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