Assignment 3 – Report
Assignment 3 – Report
Stephanie Rickards S3769773
I declare that in submitting all work for this assessment I have read, understood and agree to the content and expectations of the assessment declaration – https://www.rmit.edu.au/students/support-and-facilities/student-support/equitable-learning-services
Prompt: How do the affordances of Instagram affect the way photos and videos are authored, published and distributed in the network?
Word count: 1,099
Making Media Blog Posts
Title: The importance of networking on Instagram to reach your target audience
Introduction
This following report situates itself around the distribution process of photo and video content on Instagram and adds emphasis on the importance of networking to reach your target audience. This report responds to the course prompt by discussing Instagram’s affordances and how they are utilised in the practices of authoring, publishing and distribution. My ideas illustrated in the background, evidence and evaluation sections all stem back to core of this unit which is Instagram and how this “simple app that has inspired creativity while capturing everyday moments through the lens of your mobile phone” (Manovich, 2016, pp. 12). My own reflections included in this report relate back to own personal experiences I’ve had over the past semester with Instagram and blogging.
Background
Instagram, a mobile photo and video sharing platform launched in October 2010 “allows you to capture, edit and publish photos, view photos of your friends, discover other photos through search, interact with them…. etc, all from a single device.” (Manovich, 2016, pg. 11.) The platform has over more than 150 million active users with around 55 million photos posted each day. (Serafinelli, 2018.) Upon reflection, I’ve realised that the success of Instagram ties back to my week 3 Blog Post about affordances and how these these affordances create a positive user experience. After going through the readings for this semester, it was made clear to me around week 7 of how each week’s topic relate and connect with each other. My in depth understanding and ideas around affordances and constraints stems from our week 7 reading when Palmer, D 2014 spoke about the affordances of mobile media photography. It was this specific reading when I started to truly understand and incorporate keywords such as networks, limitations and affordances into my blog posts and everyday life to develop a deeper understanding which I’ve applied throughout the semester. In connection to the prompt of authoring, publishing and distributing on Instagram, it’s important to understand how each of these processes play a significant role in networking to find and connect with your audience which I found specifically when I was making my weekly Instagram posts.
Evidence
With the amount of Instagram users, you have to understand the successful distribution methods to achieve the best outcome. Since starting my Instagram @cute_doors, it became clear to me that I needed to network my photos to find my niche market. So I had to ask myself, how will I network my content and make great use of the platforms affordances to find my niche audience on Instagram? Networking is prominent in many contexts but in particular in the context of Instagram, networking is the process of interacting with people such as following, liking, commenting or tagging. To further investigate the prompt, I chose to focus mainly on the distribution process on Instagram. After collecting information from theoretical texts, lectures and class discussions as well as my weekly blog posts, I applied this knowledge to my Instagram and I’ve discovered that the most successful step I took to enhance the exposure of my work was by adding relevant hashtags. This meant that those around the world who searched up a specific hashtag such as #doorlove or #doorsofinstagram would come across my photos and more likely than not, either like my post or follow my account, providing a clear example of the importance of using networking tools to distribute your work on Instagram. This whole process showed me how important it is to understand the platform in order to get the most out of Instagram which I further discussed in my week 11 blog post about distributing online photography. The 55 million photos that are being posted on Instagram each day supports the conclusion that “We no longer have the illusion that we can keep up with what is being shared” (Niederer pg. 13), emphasising that as an Instagram account with a specific target audience, it’s imperative to make use of Instagram’s affordances to reach your specific followers.
To further break down the prompt, I came back to my own personal experiences of using Instagram and thought about the ways in which I authored my content. This idea of ‘Instagramism’ was explored in depth by Lev Manovich discussing that Instagramism “explains originality, digital subcultures that arises within and contemporary through image in this [Instagram] social platform.” (Zamora, 2018 pp. 1.) To further develop my own online identity on Instagram, I chose to incorporate these ideas of visual aesthetics/Instagramism’s whilst I was authoring my content. I ensured my posts were edited with the same filter and I also tried to make sure each post fitted within the overarching washed out, cool toned white washes of colour throughout all my posts, creating a visually appealing grid. These choices not only made my feed look pretty but it also made use of our semiotically functioned selves to appeal to the online user to want to network and connect with my account.
Evaluation
My critical response to the prompt is that the affordance of networking on Instagram effectively allows users to develop and reach a niche audience through the processes of authoring, publishing and distributing.
To reach your niche market, Instagram’s affordances of tagging, location services, liking, commenting and following allows people to connect with other users all around the world, developing online connection. Without these features offered by the platform, it would be a lot more difficult to build and grow your online identity. My argument is demonstrated through my personal experience of the fast growth of my door account. I have attracted a very specific niche audience by making use of networked affordances to further distribute my content and gain a distinct and unique audience.
Conclusion
To conclude this report, I have drawn on my own personal experiences being an active Instagram user and focused on how I distributed my content to reach and connect with my target audience. I tied this idea in with the course prompt of the affordances of Instagram and explained which specific affordances I utilised. I briefly spoke about the processes of authoring and publishing and drew back to my own personal experiences.
If I were to partake in a similar project in the future, I would want to have a bit more of a solid plan of how I would address my audience and probably make more of an effort to get really great content without having to edit my content so much. In regards to my argument, I truly believe it’s vital to make use of Instagram’s affordances if you want to enhance user experience and to network your content to be able to reach your target audience.