Photography and art
That whooshing sound I just heard was my intended blog post being overtaken by events. The intention was to write a short article about the Instagram mobile photo-sharing app which has just been released on Android, and my thoughts on it now that I've had a chance to get used to it. However the news which broke tonight that Instagram itself has been acquired by Facebook, in a deal worth an eye-watering $1billion, has meant a hasty rewrite.
This is the second such high-profile acquisition by a large player in the social media environment, following from last month's purchase of the blogging platform Posterous by Twitter. However on this occasion, both sides are emphasising that they intend to keep Instagram alive, with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying in his statement that it is " an important part of the (Instagram) experience" that Instagram connects to "other services beyond Facebook". The Facebook CEO assured users that existing Instagram features such as the ability to post to other networks and maintain a separate list of followers to Facebook will remain. For Instagram's part, their chief executive Kevin Systrom also stressed in a blog post that Instagram would not be going away.
Cynics may well point to previous Facebook acquisitions and remind people what happened to FriendFeed, HotPotato and most recently, Gowalla (all closed shortly after being acquired) but, with Zuckerberg stating explicitly that he intends to build on the existing strengths of Instagram (30 million users, even before the app was released to Android), it is to be hoped he will be as good as his word. Whether the existing userbase will all be pleased about the acquisition is another matter; there are those who wanted to move away from Facebook's dominance of the social media sphere. Instagram was poised to become a major rival to Facebook, especially as it had made the jump to Android and was no longer the playground for only the iPhone crowd.
So, notwithstanding the fact that Instagram is now a part of the Facebook juggernaut, I may as well go ahead and press on with my original plan to offer my own thoughts on the app itself. It was the social media aspect of Instagram which drew me into downloading it for my Android as soon as it became available; there are already apps with similar filtering capability out there for Android which do as good, if not a better job. Up to now I've been using Urbian's Retro Camera; that works slightly differently in that the filter you get depends on the 'camera' you select (you're offered one of six 'retro cameras', each with different characteristics) but, it gives pleasing results if you are after that retro feel to your digital snaps. You can also upload to Facebook or Twitter from that app, so you need not worry about being unable to share your retro masterpiece with your friends.
The first thing that I noticed the first time I downloaded Instagram was the size of the app; it took up around 13MB of my phone's internal storage. If your Android device doesn't offer you a great deal of internal storage, that's a major consideration. However, subsequent updates (I've updated mine three times already and I haven't had the app for one week yet, at the time of writing!) have given the user the ability to move the app to the SD card, which I have done. Using the camera is pretty straightforward, the middle icon on the bottom row puts you into the camera and you just tap that icon once again to take your picture. Once you've taken the shot, it puts you into the filtering stage. However, you can also select from a previously taken picture by tapping the icon to the right of the 'shutter release' when in camera mode, and apply filters to that.
From there, you are offered a selection of filter effects, which wash out the colour, change the contrast, apply 'glare' and many other effects you'll be familiar with. These are selected from a row along the bottom of your screen and are applied as soon as you select one. You do have other options along the top of the screen also: you can apply a 'frame' to your image, rotate it (90 degrees at a time) or apply a 'boost' button which appears to lighten darker areas of the photo without burning out already bright areas. Once you are happy with your choices, the arrow button in the top right will 'process' the image and take you to the upload screen, where you can add your caption, geotag the image if you wish, and decide which other social networks to share the image to. (Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Tumblr are supported).
After uploading, you will see the image on your own 'timeline'. This looks a lot like Twitter (or Twitpic, more accurately) and hashtags are used in a similar fashion. The 'home' icon, on the bottom left will put you to the main timeline where you can see the latest pictures from users you follow. A nice touch which I liked was the double-tap on the image itself, in order to 'like' it. (You get a little heart symbol appear momentarily on the image, and another underneath which turns red to show you 'like' it.) From there it is similar in operation to Facebook's timeline, with comments appearing below the image.
All very nice, and it does work well, but I found the whole experience to be pretty standard; other than the fact it can be viewed only on mobile devices (unless you use a third-party site to view Instagram images) there's nothing particularly groundbreaking about this platform. I don't find it particularly addictive, although I've posted a few – admittedly trivial – images up there, it's not something I would see myself spending a lot of time doing. Clearly, a lot of people disagree with me though, given the hostile reactions first to the Android launch, now the Facebook acquisition, by Instagram fans.
With that in mind then, why would Facebook stump up so much for this platform? The consensus seems to be that they wanted to nip in the bud a possible rival, with the web and social media becoming more and more about the mobile device, Instagram was well placed to become the go-to social network with 30 million users and counting. Those sort of numbers cannot be ignored, even by the number one social media network, and although the Instagram platform hadn't been monetized at the time of acquisition, it's a safe bet that Facebook will accelerate that process.
Only time will tell whether this move was a wise one by Facebook or whether it could be another case of a major player paying far too much for a currently trendy platform, but for the sake of those Instagram users, I hope it is the former.
A few things have happened in the world of Pinterest since my earlier blog on the subject; the lady who questioned their terms (a photographer and lawyer called Kirsten Kowalski) was contacted by Pinterest founder Ben Silbermann after she posted her original blog, declaring that the terms as they stood meant she would have to delete her boards on the site to avoid a possible copyright infringement suit.
Since that blog went viral Pinterest have been working to change their terms and conditions; as far as I see the copyright infringement thing still holds (i.e., you're liable if you infringe and the content creator decides to sue), but there is one change to the site's etiquette guidelines that is significant. Pinterest no longer discourage users from pinning their own work to boards. This had to happen, because the only really safe way to avoid a possible infringement is to pin your own pictures up. Of course, if you DO have permission, that's fine, but it is vital to verify this first.
Some sites are now providing a 'Pin It' button so that Pinterest users can pin their pictures up on their boards, and that's fine so long as the pictures are the property of the site. With this change in their guidelines, I have now taken the plunge and actually signed up for Pinterest myself. I understand their terms and conditions are changing this month and it remains to be seen if they will make their rules clearer on what can and cannot be pinned safely, but now that there is no longer the 'stigma' of pinning your own photos up (it was regarded as self-promotion), I feel it is now the right time to get involved – and I have every intention of promoting myself!
So far my pinned pictures have been general snaps, just to get things going, but from the online marketing standpoint, this is something that must be embraced. Consequently I will be learning all I can about how to get the best out of this tool and anything I learn, I will share here.
Meanwhile, you can find my boards here – watch this space!
Pixlr is a real godsend for internet marketers; it puts the basic features of popular editing software such as Photoshop in the hands of anyone with a computer – you no longer need to install anything, just navigate to www.pixlr.com/editor and away you go. If you are setting up a Facebook page this video will show how you can use the online editor to create your own graphic to use on the page. They are usually 200×600 pixels and so our graphic is created to those dimensions. Hopefully those of you who are using the editor have better taste than I did when making this demonstration – I do not recommend blending purple and yellow together!
I've just been playing about with Pixlr, a browser-based image editor. This tool is a real boon for anyone who wants to edit their photos or create a new graphic from scratch, but is either away from their regular computer with a software editor installed on it (such as Photoshop or the GIMP) or perhaps does not have an editor on the machine. This tool offers much of the familiarity of the Photoshop desktop, along with a tool palette with all the everyday options included, but is accessible from anywhere and is free, to boot. You can edit an image either stored on your machine, or from a URL, or from an image saved in your Facebook, Picasa or Flickr galleries, and once you have finished editing it you can also save the finished image online. The video shows a quick demonstration of Pixlr, I have used it to demonstrate that it can emulate layer masking in Photoshop, which means you can, for example change the colour of a car bonnet (as I have shown).
The video may be viewed in full-screen if desired – click the icon in the bottom right of the control bar to expand.
The other use for this tool is of course the ability to make customised graphics; if for example you have a Facebook page and need to create a sidebar or another image for use on it, you can do so on this editor and upload it. Network marketers will therefore find this to be a fabulous asset; a future video will show how the Pixlr tool can create a graphic in much the same way as would be done in Photoshop.
There are also plugins for Firefox and for Google Chrome so that you can screen-grab any image or graphic from the web and edit it in Pixlr.
Pixlr Screen Grabber for Firefox
Pixlr Screen Grabber for Google Chrome
For more sophisticated image editing, of course, the free tool cannot match the vast amount of options and settings in the Adobe product but, for a free utility accessible from any computer (provided it is Flash-enabled and of a reasonable specification) Pixlr is a real game-changer for people who wish to get creative. I look forward to getting more familiar with this editor over the coming weeks.
To try it out for yourself please follow the link below.
I only took this picture earlier, as the light was fading:
[caption id="attachment_258" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Dream by Jaume Plensa. Pic © Ronnie Soo"]
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Dream is a sculpture designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa, it can be seen from the M62 as you approach Liverpool. It is sited on a former colliery, Sutton Manor near St Helens. Carved from dolomite, it can look very different depending on the time of day and the light which falls upon it. I was hoping for the sun to hit this statue as it was setting, but a late cloudover scuppered that idea. I’ve enhanced it a fair bit from the original, but basically this was how it looked to me as I got there.
At 20 metres tall, this sculpture certainly made an impression – a popular spot for photography fans already, I’m sure it’s something I’ll be returning to as the season changes!
Who is the silhouetted bloke?
[caption id="attachment_239" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="A statue from the Another Place exhibit by Antony Gormley. Pic © Ronnie Soo"]
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It’s actually one of 100 cast iron statues created by artist Antony Gormley, best known for the ‘Angel of the North’ sculpture in Gateshead. They’re situated at Crosby beach, north of Liverpool, and are spread out over a two-mile stretch of the beach. With the incoming tide, some of the statues which are further out actually get submerged!
(The one you see here is much closer to the shore – I’m not that daft!)
The work was only intended to be sited there for a limited time; the original plan was for it to be relocated in 2006 but it was eventually agreed to keep the statues at Crosby permanently. (Presumably Gormley made some more for the intended exhibits elsewhere!) Having the metal men on the beach makes for fascinating picture opportunites; especially at sunset the effect of seeing these life-size figures across the beach is quite dramatic.
Another photo, from another place (pun intended!) soon! 
It’s been a proper winter this year here in Britain, but it’s finally coming to an end. Here’s proof!
[caption id="attachment_230" align="aligncenter" width="240" caption="Snowdrop in March. Pic © Ronnie Soo"]
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In previous years we’ve seen snowdrops as early as January but not this year, for once the seasons are in their proper places!
Spring is a nice time for photography with all the blossom, so I hope to be posting some nice pics on here in the coming weeks
This week I am visiting North Wales; somewhere I regularly travel to and while here I hope to get some nice photographs. The weather is colder than usual for this time of year, it’s actually been snowing this week!
As a result, I’ve not yet been out with the camera – apart from during the journey down. This picture was taken at Llyn Celyn, late afternoon with the low sun. This picture is straight off the camera, with no enhancement and the only thing I have done is reduce the resolution for the web. The late afternoon sun really makes for a dramatic scene I’m sure you’ll agree.
[caption id="attachment_201" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Late afternoon shot of Llyn Celyn, Wales. Pic © Ronnie Soo"]
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I hope to bring another photo from this week – if the conditions let up!
I took this picture today, down by the Liverpool Arena and Convention centre. They have just constructed a new Big Wheel in time for Valentine’s Day; it replaces the previous one which was in the nearby Liverpool ONE complex and which was dismantled at the end of last month. Many cities in this country have taken the idea of the London Eye and installed their own wheels, but at the time of writing this I do not know if this wheel is going to be a permanent fixture or a temporary one.
Anyway, it certainly cannot be missed – here’s my picture from earlier today (Friday 11 February)
[caption id="attachment_185" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="New Big Wheel outside Liverpool Arena. Pic © Ronnie Soo"]
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Should I get the chance to go on it and get some pictures, they will appear here!
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+Ronnie Soo
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Former IT technician turned internet marketer and blogger, with an interest in the ever-changing world of search engine optimisation and the use of Social Media for business.
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Former IT technician turned internet marketer and blogger, with an interest in the ever-changing world of search engine optimisation and the use of Social Media for business.
Copyright © 2011 Ronnie Soo. All Rights Reserved.
