At the Instance of Instagram – By ‘Sola Fagorusi

Who took the first selfie? The term ‘selfie’ is credited to one Nathan Hope who first reportedly used the word in 2002. Instagram also deserves some form of credit for making ‘selfies’ a fad in the world today. Already, the word has been introduced as a new word in the Oxford English Dictionary. Selfies; self-pictures is today’s fad.

Instagram will be 5 years in existence later this year and it is interesting to note that Facebook was able to forecast its acceptance in the nearest future and thus paid $1 billion in cash and stock for the acquisition even when several analysts felt it was overpriced. Instagram in the last quarter of 2014 announced that it now has 300 million active users while its closest rival twitter has 284 million active users. Of note is the figure being pushed by Instagram that 70% of its users are from outside the United States where Instagram is domiciled. It took Facebook five years to acquire 200 million followers while it took Twitter took six and a half years to reach this same milestone. Instagram’s record is one to beat in the social media circle; asides from Google Plus which reached 200 million followers hit in a shorter time space. And the reason is obvious.

Pictures are one of the items at the heart of social media use. Pictures are valid on several of the social media platforms but instagram seem to be the perfect definition and destination for pictures. It explains why the top users on instagram are celebrities and individuals in the showbiz and fashion industry. Instagram’s catch ahead of twitter may be due to its visual composition. Its visual approach is easier to understand than the world of hashtags, mentions, notifications and several of the other complexities that first time users of twitter usually notices and complains of.

Facebook has built the platform independently of itself only allowing for a minimum level of integration. “Facebook plans on keeping features within the app that allow photos to be published on other social networks, and the ability to have followers and follow people who are not necessarily your Facebook friends.” The 13 person venture, before it was sold off 18 months after its debut, was started by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. Launched on iPhone in October 2010, by December, it already had 1 million users, six months afterwards, it had 5 million users patronising the platform, the first geometric rise in its followers was in September 2011 when it doubled the number of users it had in 2011 making the one year old platform boast of 10 million users. Instragram is internet dependent and is designed to share pictures and videos. Either through its app available on all app stores on its website – www.instagram.com Instagram has the edge of digital filters which gives images various feel to it based on the taste of the user. Over 20 billion pictures are said to have been shared on the site.

Instagram is the new bride of the social media community; it is the new destination for young people in a fashion age where glamour is glitz. More businesses are beginning to tap into the instagram audience. Instagram is where celebrities with massive influence ‘live’ online and for young people it is the new cool. That one does not need to scroll around or navigate around the page to like pictures also makes instagram different. A double click on the picture is all it takes. With the growth of visual marketing, it is beginning to become a threat to content marketing as smart businesses are finding a way merge both. Instagram is providing users with digital technology skill to transform a basic image into one with emotions. This explains why the engagement on twitter is higher. Experts say that ‘Instagram users, in general, tend to be more active and more engaged than fans on other social media sites. Instagram users will like and comment on many more posts than they will on any other site. Of course, these results are somewhat dependent on follower levels on comparative sites.’

Instagram has the shortfall of its rejection of hyperlink. Hyperlinks are not allowed in comments or posts. Instagram cannot serve to direct links to one’s website. The only place on instagram where this is possible is on the user’s bio. Any business with a clear strategy can use instagram very well in combination with other social media forms. It however would demand time and commitment as touching creating great visual content. With attention span getting shorter, pictures seem to be the perfect replacement. Pictures deliver more to the audience. They relay emotions, ideas, feelings, views, and actuality. These are missing in text. Photos bring viewers into ones world closely and following this, the engagement followers afterwards. Photos also allow for casual moments and lets people see a part they will not likely see if it were just text form. Instagram has come to stay and the statistics further shows that. ‘As of August 2013, the average Instagram user spent 257 minutes on Instagram. During that same period, the average Twitter user spent 169.9 minutes on Twitter. As of October 2013, 35 million selfies have been posted on Instagram.’

In this season of politics, instagram users have been flooded the social media platform with pictures from campaign grounds and other political campaign related activities. Instagram is catching on wildly in Nigeria with celebrities endorsing its use in droves. One celebrity’s picture and a few words is all it takes to make headline in the entertainment news. Politicians will also be smart on this to build their credibility and also to show to people that they can be trusted. Projects and other initiatives they have embarked on can be posted here. Well branded and edited pictures of their pasts can also help the viewing public accept them to a degree to show that afterall they used to be just another Nigerian. The figures on instagram users on the continent and in Nigeria in particular is not yet readily available, It is however certain that people under 40 will form the bulk of users on the platform. I am @SolaFagro on instagram

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‘Sola Fagorusi is a social entrepreneur and a prized freelance writer with a bias for youth and rural development. He started off as a youth staff with Action Health Incorporated in 2001. The Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife alumnus currently manages the programmes of OneLife Initiative, Nigeria. ‘Sola is a DESPLAY Africa (Africa’s foremost and most consistent annual youth democracy academy) fellow and has been on its faculty since 2011. Keenly interested in governance and pan-Africanism, he volunteers as online editor of YouthHub Africa; a cyber-community for young Africans involved in social change. He believes in the efficacy of oratory and writing as tools to drive developmental engagements. As a freelance writer, he spares time to pen thoughts on contemporary societal issues and is a weekly columnist with Nigeria’s most read daily ? Punch Newspaper. His training and capacity cuts across democracy and governance, leadership, micro-enterprise, ICT4D, SRH, value chains, development communication and policy issues. He tweets @SolaFagro and blogs at www.kadunaboy.com