An instameet exchange program with bmibaby
Today, we’re excited to announce the release of one of the largest revamps to the Instagram app since it launched nearly a year ago.
Since the day we launched, one core part of the app has remain largely unchanged: the camera. In the past, we’ve added filters & tilt-shift, but the base technology…
Remembering 9/11
Starting today you can get your Fashion Week fix by following these great couture Instagram accounts!
- Fashion’s Night Out Live: This fantastic use of our API will cover the world’s premiere shopping event, live. You’ll be able to explore images by location as well as see…
Little adjustments and edits to a photograph can make all the difference. It may seem like a nit-picky pointer but often straightening horizon lines to make them … well … horizontal, or adjusting that building photo you snapped before posting it to the #lookingup tag group, is an overlooked…
dbox:
I recently did a google search to see if anyone had “converted” instagram filters to photoshop actions. After not finding any results, I decided to see if I could do it myself. I didn’t get a 100% exact match, but it’s pretty close.
Im starting with “Nashville” then will add more soon. Let me…
Quick review - StickyGram - turning your Instagrams into magnets
What is it?
As it says really. It’s a service that lets you turn a selection of nine of your Instagram shots into fridge magnets (or wherever else you might want to stick them magnets).
What do you do?
Using the online service at stickygram.com simply log in with your Instagram account. You’ll be shown your Instagram feed from which you choose which nine pics you would like as magnets. You can choose any one pic several times if you want, useful if intended as little gifts.
You can then preview your selection, proceeding to the checkout when you’re happy.
What do you get?
You get a sheet of 9 50mm x 50mm (about the same size as they appear on your iPhone) flexible fridge magnets. The picture quality is decent enough. StickyGram aim to deliver within 5-12 days depending upon where you live in the world. Mine actually arrived 3 days after ordering! Very impressive.
How much does it cost?
It costs US $14.99 for a sheet of nine magnets with free shipping anywhere in the world.
Any good?
Yeah. I’m happy with the product and the cost. The process was easy and the delivery very impressive (the packaging and insert also indicates a good level of attention to detail).
Only problem is, I don’t have a fridge door to put them on! They’ll make nice little gifts though :)
You’ve got the great shots - now get those follower numbers up
7 Tips to get more Instagram Followers
I’m a believer in quality being better than quantity so these tips are based around getting you followers who are likely to appreciate your Instagram work, rather than just gaining enough followers to form a private army and take over the world. That’s a blog for a different day :)
1. Share good photos. A steady stream of nice photos is a more likely to attract a following than a constant churn of photos of anything and everything. Which leads to point 2.
2. Don’t upload all you photos in one go. If you’ve several good photos to share spread them out over the course of a day. This avoids a glut of photos filling feeds and more importantly it makes you more visible to other IGers who will be using Instagram at different times of the day.
3. Follow people. It seems fairly obvious, but follow those people who you think take interesting shots. Not all of them will follow you back, but even so, you’ll still have a great feed of photos coming through. The stats showing how many followers/followings a user has will give an indication if someone is likely to follow you back.
4. Be sociable. When you see a photo you like, ‘like’ it. Comment when you want to comment on a photo. Don’t be shy. Also, if someone likes one of your photos have a look at their feed and see if there is anything you like. You like it when people like and comment on your photos, spread the happiness :)
5. Hashtags are your friends. Just like in twitter use them on your photos by adding them in the caption or by adding them in a comment. Look back over your personal photo feed and add hashtags to older photos. This will make your photos more visible to others. You can also search for other peoples photos by using hashtags. Search for something you’re interested in. It’s a great way of discovering like minded IGers.
6. Use a dashboard. Although you can carry out all these actions through the Instagram app on your iPhone you might find it easier to use a web based dashboard such as statigram or gramfeed. This will make it easier to view photo feeds, add or search on hashtags, comment and like, and they usually have added extras. Instagram has a nice selection of stats relating to your Instagram use and gramfeed has a smart geolocation visualisaton. These sites are free and need you to do nothing more than log in using your Instagram details. They make it so much easier to be sociable.
7. Be patient and simply enjoy taking and viewing great Instagram shots :)
I’d probably say points number 1 and 7 are most important, but that’s just me.
What tips would you give fellow IGers?
Review - Postagram - Sending your favourite Instagram pics as postcards
What is it?
Postagram is a service that lets you have any of your Instagram pics printed an a high quality glossy postcard which is sent on your behalf to anyone you choose. The photo itself can be popped out of the postcard and kept as a sturdy photo. (They can also send pics from Facebook and other sources, but I’ll concentrate on the Instagram angle).
What do you do?
For my test I used the Instagram website, but you can use the Postagram app which is available for iPhone and Android.
The Postagram site is clear and intuitive. Simply log in using your Instagram account and you are presented with a gallery of your Instagram photos. Click any photo for a larger image of it, and when you’re happy with your choice, click the big friendly ‘Use Photo’ button.
You’ll now be presented with an image of how your completed postcard will actually look and a text box on the screen allows you to enter any message you would like to accompany your photo.
To continue you will be asked to log into, or create, an account with Sincerely, the makers of Postagram (as well as the interesting looking Popbooth - but more of that another day).
Using the simple ‘Add Recipient’ button lets you, well, add recipients or you can simply click on the details of someone you’ve previously sent a Postagram to.
As recipients are added the grand total cost of your order is displayed clearly at the bottom of the screen.
All that is left is to go to the checkout, select or enter your financial details and choose ‘Buy Now’ and that’s it!
What do you get?
Within 3-5 days in the US, or 2-3 weeks in the rest of the world, your chosen recipient will receive a glossy photo card printed at 300-dpi with the photo on a removable bezel which is fairly easily popped out (even my clumsy hands could manage it without damaging the photo). I was very impressed with the card I ordered which can be seen in the photo above.
How much does it cost?
The Postagram and Sincerely accounts and the downloadable apps are all, as expected, free. Each Postragram card costs 0.99c.
Any good?
I’ve got to say I’ve been very impressed with the whole thing - the product, process and price.
The quality of the card is excellent, the process of ordering a card is intuitive and quick and the price is very affordable.
All in all an excellent product which really does impress. Just ask my wife who now has a lovely glossy Instagram picture of our baby daughter :)
Hello :)
This is just a quick note to say that as well as having our Twitter feed (@go_instagram) where we’ll be keeping you up to date with with top tips, apps, news and pics from Instagram, we’ll also be reviewing some of the apps and hopefully giving a few quick tutorials to help everyone get the most out of the best photo app around.
If you have any apps you would like us to review just give us a shout :)
