This Instagram Account Shows How Alike Photographers Are

I discovered an Instagram account last night called @insta_repeat. The account posts collages of photos from all of the cookie cutter “adventure photographers” on Instagram. Don’t get me wrong. I follow some of these photographers and they are really good. I don’t want to diminish or disparage their skills. But they’ve fallen into the Instagram trap, where they post popular photos that people like, and other photographers see that popularity and post similar photos to get on the bandwagon. I think a lot of them are independent artists, and they don’t have the luxury of choice that photographers who get sponsored or have a business do. The account does it with class. No calling people out, or public shaming. Just simple collages of similar photos.

Instagram Lets People Add Music to Stories

Instagram announced Thursday that users can now add music to their Stories, the temporary videos borrowed from Snapchat. Users will be able to select a song, searching by name, mood, genre, and other criteria. Once selected, users can scrub through it to find the part that matches their video, and then post it. Users can also choose a song before starting a live video. So far, you can only select from a limited library of songs chosen (and paid for) by Instagram. The company said it was adding more songs to that library “daily.” Go forth. Influence.

Can Social Media Be Humane, Smartwatch Diabetes Detection, and Nice Apple Content - ACM 448

Can social media be “humane,” or is the push for addictive platforms just par for the course? Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet discuss The Center for Humane Technology’s push for reform. They also talk about Cardiogram’s ability to detect diabetes from Apple Watch activity data, and they talk about Apple’s penchant for avoiding dark and edgy content.

Instagram Stories Now Available on the Web

Instagram announced Thursday that the platform’s Stories will soon be viewable on the Web. This means IG users will be able to see them on a browser on Mac or PC, or on a mobile device if you don’t want to use the Instagram app. Previously they were available only in the app. Stories were essentially copied from SnapChat, and have proven immensely popular for Instagram, too. Stories last 24 hours only and are comprised of either live streams, videos, or stills. I’m not seeing them in my personal Instagram feed yet, but the company said that when they appear, they’ll be, “at the top of feed on mobile web, and to the right of your feed on desktop web.”

Instagram Testing Live Stories with Friends

Instagram announced Tuesday that it’s testing the ability to do live Stories with friends. Users who are broadcasting live can tap a button that allows them to invite anyone who is watching to join in on the broadcast. The original Story broadcaster can remove and invite another, too. As shown in the screenshot, the original Story broadcaster is on top of the split screen, while the participant is on the lower half. Instagram said the feature is being tested by a “small percentage of our community,” and will be launched globally in the “next few months.” It’s all part of Facebook/Instagram’s slow, but steady attack on YouTube, as well as SnapChat, and I expect it to be a popular feature. Especially after some split Stories go catastrophically wrong.

Apple's New Instagram Account Showcases iPhone Photography

Apple just launched an Instagram account to highlight photos shot on iPhones. Right now the account has a handful of videos showing off different photographer’s work, but soon there’ll be more because Apple will be watching for the #ShotoniPhone hash tag. Over time Apple’s Instagram feed will no doubt have some amazing shots that highlight the quality of photos you can snap with an iPhone. Now I need to go back and add #ShotoniPhone to some of my pics.

Twitter, Instagram, and Others Agree to Pay $5.3 Million for Privacy Obnoxiousness

Several social media companies have agreed to a US$5.3 million settlement for being obnoxious about user privacy. The suit stems from 2012, when Twitter, Instagram, Yelp, Foursquare, Kik, Path, Gowalla, and Foodspotting all took advantage of the way iOS worked at the time. More specifically, these companies sucked up our Contacts without telling us. iOS later required user permission to access our Contacts. The settlement was reported by Law360, who said the $5.3 million would be used to pay out damages to people who downloaded the above-mentioned apps between 2009 and 2012. What that means is the attorneys in the case get a phat paycheck, the companies get a slap on the wrist, and the millions of users who downloaded those apps will get pennies. Yay!