As a media student, I have learned that most media are just a variation or enhancement of already existing media types or platforms. Theatre becomes cinema. Radio turns into television. This happens almost always because of the technological development. In that way, the technology can change our needs and habits. But some of these types of media stay relevant – and why is that? I believe it has a lot to do with the uses and gratifications of the people. Different medias serve different purposes.
All of these thoughts came from a discussion in class about the differences between blogs and social media platforms like Instagram. It is commonly believed that social media descend from blogs, which I agree with. Although there are great differences too. I thought. Because thinking about it, maybe the difference is not that big after all.
Niederer claims that images are changing from being used as data to being used as content – this I will argue is also the case with blogs Instagram and. Where the blogs main ingredient is the creative, well written text the images often functions as visual support. The opposite goes for Instagram. Here the image is indisputably the most important part of the post, as many of the followers do not even read the caption – and very few would click on the “show more”-button if a user has dared to write that much.
Reading about Coralie Vogelaar’s installation “Gaze Plots” made me think about what our eyes focus on when looking at Instagram compared to blogs. I think there is a big difference. On Instagram we tend to focus in the esthetically beautiful and polished look. We use Instagram to please the eye, to entertain us and to get inspired. When reading blogs, there is a greater tendency to immerse ourselves more into the written. Blogs can give us a deeper understanding or another perspective on different topics and make us wonder about everything from veganism to architecture.
// Laura