did instagram change blogging?

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In the last year, I’ve grown really attached to the Instagram app for managing my photos and other ‘moments’ I want to keep highly accessible. It’s very clear to see the app’s rise in other popular media - when do you not see that little rounded camera symbol? When was the last time you took a photo with your phone and not tinkered around with a fllter? I’ve noticed that with myself, I’ve grown more and more interested in using instagram as my top ‘social’ media outlet, even though it really literally only offers a snapshot into whomever we are following. Do I like that design better? Yes. It’s simpler and efficient. But with all social media, it is easier in this day and age to overshare - and visuals are what all of our eyes go to first. My big concern, however, is that instagram took some of the integrity out of blogging. Not all, but some.

I began blogging in 2010 before Instagram was a popular platform. I have always been weary about promoting my blog on social media for privacy reasons,  but all at once instagram and blogging have, in a way, become deeply intertwined. I think I’ve noticed this in a sharper way because my blog has a heavy foundation in photos. If I publish a ‘peek’ on instagram, it almost feels like I am giving away my content. Captions are another huge, yet sometimes overlooked aspect to this shift. I love ‘catching up’ with some of my favorite bloggers by reading their lengthier captions - because seriously, how lengthy can they be on Instagram - paired with one summative snapshot. I think people respond more to pictures and less so to printed text - especially paragraphs (like this!). It’s true - there are more Smartphones than there are blogs. 

In short, I think that Instagram has significantly altered the nature of blogging. Our ‘followers’ are very different from our readers; people who occasionally check up on our feeds may feel like they’ve got enough of the picture (pun intended)!

I asked some of my dear bloggy friends their opinions on this issue; I formed my own opinions before even opening their responses to this question: did instagram change blogging? I have ‘known’ these girls for years now, and am eager to share with you what they think on this, too! Here’s Candice and Jenna!

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"Does anyone even read this thing?" I know I've asked myself the question before in regards to my blog. With the rise in social media, especially Instagram, it seems as though the days of reading photo/text heavy posts are beginning to fade. I love Instagram, and personally choose to use it for both personal and blog related content. It's a way to share inspiring and beautiful content, as well as a platform for easy interaction with one's audience. I've even had the chance to meet up with other bloggers I had discovered via Instagram. Technology can be pretty great in that respect. Has blogging changed since Instagram? I would say yes. People enjoy the convenience and brevity of the captioned image, and can easily interact with brands, products, and other people. Should it replace blogging altogether? I would hope not, as I see it co-existing with blogs as an extension of a blogger's branding and aesthetic. Besides, Instagram gives readers an inside look at the little details of one's life, which gives more personality to the voice behind the blog. Everyone wants to feel as though they connect and relate to the bloggers behind their favorite reads. There are certainly benefits to both blogs and Instagram, and in a sense each engages a different audience, obviously with definite crossover. Overall, I enjoy using Instagram, and think it is an effective tool to engage a wider range of readers, as well as a fun way to share moments from one's life.

click to see candice's blog 

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At first, Instagram was simply a way to share photos with friends and give quick updates on life. Oh, how things have changed! Instagram has been transformed into THE place to share blog post images, beautifully styled photos, and network with fellow bloggers and creatives. With every blog post I write, I make sure to snap an Instagram worthy photo to share when the blog post goes live. I have found that I have a lot of blog traffic coming from my Instagram when I do that. I've learned that if you have a beautiful Instagram feed, people will be drawn to your blog. You have to make sure to get involved with the Instagram community, though, and participate in photo challenges, hashtags, and engaging with followers and non-followers. It's definitely my favorite social media platform!

click to see jenna's blog | instagram 

local spotlight: summer beads

A couple of weekends ago my mom and sister and I ventured to a new outdoor market near Washington's Crossing - it was started by my mom's good friend, Amy! She also is a talented jewelry designer and heads her company, Summer Beads. She hand makes bracelets, rings, and uses the most beautiful beads in her wrap bracelets (they are my favorite!). Everything is really customizable - they will even measure it to the size of your wrist. I have a green wrap that I wear, and especially in the summertime - I always feel so indie and bohemian! Her collection is lovely - I have my eye on a few, especially seeing the bright new assortment for the summer. We visited her tent at McConkey's Market, located right along the beautiful banks of the Delaware (the setting of Washington's epic crossing of the Delaware!) with 50+ vendors.

Some of my favorites from Summer Beads..

top left: turquoise oval bracelet    ||    top right: white faceted triple wrap (probably looks so good with a tan!)

bottom left: 6mm faceted pink wrap    ||     bottom right: blue ammonite and silver triple wrap

Check out Summer Beads here! Be sure to like them on Facebook, too. :) If you're around in the fall, you can visit the market again - same place - on Sept. 21, 2014. The market features some of the best handmade goods and local artisans - I met an Italian lady from Venice and I spoke to her a little bit! Such a treat to converse with such cool people.

A presto :) ciao, xo!

currently.

The other week I started a new thing I'm calling 'currently,'

a post where I jot down all of the current favorites/thoughts/challenges going on in my life.

today the lovely Jenna from Dearest Love and Samantha from Elah Tree are sharing their lists with me.

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addicted to:  Coffee, Coffee, and more coffee. 

smelling: The roses from my garden. The rainy weather has done a little bit of damage to my fragile rose bush, but I clipped a couple of stems so that I can enjoy their scent while blogging or watching tv. 

thinking about:  Everything I want to do this summer--travel, organize, exercise, spend time with friends. 

looking forward to: Working freelance for some local flower shops and floral design studios. So excited to see where this new hobby takes me!

feeling grateful for: My husband and all of the little things he does for me each and every day. He also puts up with my messy self without much complaint.

loving the color: Green. The shade that is only slightly bluish. 

wearing a lot of: Jeans and flowy shirts. So easy to wear!

wishing i could wear a lot more of: Shorts. Oh, how I wish I could feel comfortable in them. 

tempted by: Freshly baked cookies. They are my absolute weakness, y'all. 

 dreaming to go to:  Greece. I'll be there in one month! 

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cooking bbq salmon burgers and they are amazing! I made some a couple of weeks ago and I plan on making them a couple more times. So good that it is kind of mind blowing.

reading Blog Life and really loving it. I'm not just saying that. It is really good, full of great advice, encouragement, and personal stories.

wearing shorts and t-shirts, oh and skirts and tanks. Hello summer!

loving my husband. He is the most amazing man! He is encouraging, supportive, kind, and makes me laugh! He is amazing at dropping things on his list to help me with mine.

listening to our Rend Collective station on Pandora which is one of my favorite stations. If you don't have a Rend Collective station on Pandora you should. Stop what you are doing right now and go make one.

excited to go to my brothers basic training graduation! Georgia here I come! 

watching Bones. That is actually really random for me, because I usually don't watch those types of shows. But my mom mentioned she was watching it so I looked it up on Hulu and I've been watching a few. It's not to bad.

eating lots of ice cream. Mini Magnum almond bars to be exact. 

trying to work out more. Slowly working it into my morning routine. 

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thank you ladies! ciao, xo

photography inspo: my mom

This summer my mother, the photographer extraordinaire in the family, ventured out west to beautiful Seattle, Washington. I've been there once when I was only twelve years old - I remember crying on my flight home because I loved it oh so much. I didn't want to be peeled away from the beautiful mountainsides of evergreen, the wondrous Puget Sound, or the city with the one-of-a-kind skyline. The Pacific Northwest enchanted my twelve year old heart and it does to this day. These are just a select few of her photos from Pike Place Market, and they completely inspire me. When I see them, they make me want to not only travel, but be a better photographer.

Those were her photos; captured in a raw, natural, bright, colorful light. Now, her musings on photography:

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Photography is a lot like poetry, only the imagery is the lyrical element.  Oftentimes, the photo finds the lens, and all I add is a shutter click.

How lucky we are to live in a time when capturing images is so easy.  Not long ago, I was stocking up on 400-speed film, and storing it in my refrigerator.  Remember rewinding the film in order to get it  processed, and the anticipation (!) of waiting to get those prints back?  Those days are long gone; now, you know which shots you will discard almost as soon as you take them.  Images fill our world, and the history of our daily lives is accumulating in a million cloud files from around the planet.

Still, I imagine what it would be like to have one photograph - just one - of someone like Julius Caesar, or Charlemagne.  Was Helen of Troy really beautiful?  A photo would recast her history in an instant.  Fast forward - what will those yet to come think of the photographic ghosts we leave behind?

Naturally, they will marvel at our hairstyles, and our quaint clothing. Will the voices be heard?  Will the life energy really transmit itself through frozen snippets of life?  I think so - as sure as I can stare into the     shell blue eyes of my grandmother Angeline, photographed as a young immigrant newlywed of nineteen in 1929.  I examine every detail of that picture, and I know her; I see myself, I see my children, I see my future, I see my past.  It is a gift, a photo that screams of laughter and joy, of the disappointments and trials of life; of the survival of hope, and of the promise of the future.

That is why I photograph!  My gift to the future is to capture the beauty of now, fleeting like quicksilver before my eyes.  Look at them, but I also ask, listen to them!