Instagram Chefs vs. Instagram Antagonists

Have you ever found yourself sitting at a restaurant and upon receiving your entree, you quickly whisk out your smartphone and start taking multiple snaps from various angles of your meal just to post it on Instagram? Well, just to inform you, you're not alone. Food pictures are amongst one of the most popular snaps on Instagram. Why is this so? Well, Instagram was founded on the principle of taking pictures of your daily encounters either with people, material articles, and now even food. Food is one of the few things that everyone encounters on a daily basis and, that too, multiple times throughout the day. It is also one of the things that can be one's best friend and biggest enemy (hello calories!). For this reason, "instagramming" food has become a popular past-time.


The act of taking pictures of your meals has become so common that some restaurants have even adapted to this new form of entertainment. For example, a New York restaurant, Comodo, has implemented an Instagram menu where their customers are directed to pictures of food posted under their Instagram hashtag (#ComodoMenu) to help them decide what to order. They have placed this instruction on the bottom of their real menu to encourage people to use this form of social media. The owner of Comodo has even stated, "We've been encouraging guests to post pictures on Instagram to spread the word, and the feedback has been great. Everyone keeps telling us how smart and creative it is." This just goes to show that by incorporating Instagram as a part of their restaurant service, they are able to interact with their consumers on a whole different level.

While some have embraced this form of picture-taking, others are completely against it. Some restaurants have even banned taking pictures of their food. They argue that "constantly whipping out your phone to document each course distracts from the meal, your dining companion, and even the chef" (Nesterov). In addition, many people have sided with this sentiment because they feel that it is unnecessary and a complete waste of time. Also, stating that food isn't to be appealing in pictures, but rather a form of filling one's stomach and keeping one healthy. 




 So who do you side with - the Instagram Chefs or the Instagram Antagonists?




http://www.gadling.com/2013/01/26/instagramming-food-fun-or-faux-pas/
http://mashable.com/2012/10/16/instagram-menu/

Are You Snapchatting?

Although this popular Iphone and Android app is not a new release, Snapchat, is taking storm on everyone's smartphone device. Snapchat is a photo messaging application released in 2011 where users can take pictures, record videos, add text and drawings, and then send them to their friends who also have a Snapchat account. Snapchat allows users to set a time limit for how long their recipients can view their photos/videos (max is 10 seconds), and after the viewing time has elapsed, the photo/video is completely deleted and erased from the recipients device.

This application has gained much publicity in recent months, and is only going to gain more. The term "Snapchatting" is becoming acceptable in everyday conversation. People are "snapchatting" on-the-go, in class, at work, etc. It has become an easy way to "beep" someone and give them a short glimpse of what they're doing or just to say "hey."

So the question is - Are you Snapchatting?

The Oscars

The Oscars aired on Sunday night opening to millions of viewers across the nation. Televisions were on, music was playing, people were drinking, and shiny dresses were over the screen. It was a great atmosphere for those actually at the Oscars and those watching in the comforts of their own homes either having an Oscars party with friends or simply streaming it on their laptop while trying to study for their midterms. Either way, it was quite a show!

Not only were people simply watching the show, they were also engaging with it via social media. The Oscars committee definitely had their eyes on this one from the get-go. Under the Twitter handle, #Oscars2013, viewers were constantly posting their thoughts/opinions regarding anything and everything about the event. This brought the audience together for good 4 hours straight.

Amongst the most tweeted, posted, and shared items during the event were definitely Seth McFarlane's opening act, or more commonly referred to as "the boob song," and Jennifer Lawrence's fall on her way up the stage to claim her trophy for Best Actress in Silver Lining's Playbook. Just seconds after both events occurred the online social sphere went on a complete buzz. Videos were uploaded to YouTube of the acts and in no time were people commenting away and posting their remarks.

Here are the links to both acts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TWLKP8j0zk and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyAWdlqEmxg

All-in-all the Oscars was a great show and a Sunday night well spent. Seth McFarlane did a great job hosting the show all by himself, the acts, the presenters, the winners, pretty much everything about it was really well executed (even their social media tactic!). Way to go Oscars!

We're Really that Dependent.

 

Just the other day on the bus ride to class, I overheard two students talking:

Student 1: "So wait...he doesn't have a Facebook?"
Student 2: "Not that I know of. I searched all possible variations of his name and still couldn't find him."
Student 1: "Wow...that just means that he's sketch and that you don't want to talk to him.Where has he been living anyway? Under a rock?"

I couldn't help but chuckle a little after hearing this. If this conversation was to go on just a few years back, then simply not having a Facebook would be pretty common and wouldn't be deemed as being "weird." This just goes to show that times have changed and the realm of social media is only becoming more powerful.

Today, almost about 58 million Americans use social media sites on a daily basis. This is just a 4% increase since 2011 which was 18% as compared to 2012's 22% of daily usage/logins.



To check one's Facebook page is most often the first thing one does right when he wakes up and right before one goes to sleep. It is also the first thing one checks when they open their internet browser.

Knowing these facts only brings one question to mind -- Do we control social media or does social media control us?