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Favorite App: Instagram

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Christine Borkowski
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Chantal Johnson
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at JMU chapter.

Before I got an iPhone 4S a few weeks ago, one of the apps I couldn’t wait for 
was Instagram. Not only does this app with over 27 million users allow you to edit pictures with different filters and frames, but it has its own exclusive social network. Plus, Apple voted Instagram the 2011 “App of the Year” which makes it something worth downloading on your smartphones and tablets! Want to know the best part? It’s FREE! 

Instagram is currently compatible with the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. However, Android users have some great news: TechCrunch announced Sunday that Android phones will soon gain access to the app as well.


Instagram was at South By Southwest, a March film, music and interactive conference held in Austin, Texas. The founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, noted that the Android version will be better than the iOS app in many ways. Now we just have to wait and see how!

Here are my favorite things about Instagram:

Vintage Filters and Effects

 
 
 

Instagram’s 15+ filters are a great way to get in touch with your artistic side.

I feel like a professional photographer with my iPhone!

 

Users can add a 1970s Polaroid wash (pictured: above left), a sepia tone or a black & white effect (pictured: above center), as well as different frames and “fuzzy” backgrounds (pictured: right).
 
 

Weekend #Hashtag Projects
Every week, the people at Instagram post Weekend Hashtag Projects on their Tumblr blog for users to contribute their own photos. Instagram introduced the hashtag to their app in January 2011in order to make it easier to find trends and subjects.
 

This weekend’s hashtag project was #rustingaway. So far, there are over 2,700 photos for this hashtag which means one thing—people love to share!


Social Networking is Easy

Instagram is a fun way to share photos! After taking a photo to post on the Instagram feed, you can choose which social networks to include. Instagram pictures can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Foursquare, Posterous and by email. 

 
In the settings, the user has the option to either keep both the original and edited photos in your Camera Roll, or to delete them. This way, users can text message photos or share without using  theapp. 
 

Your Favorite Brands and Celebs
Some of our favorite brands and celebs are on Instagram. Brands like Marc Jacobs, CNN, Burberry, Red Bull and Starbucks do some great brand marketing by showing aesthetically pleasing visuals and ‘behind-the-scenes’ shots. Now users can be closer to their favorite brands and celebrities!

 
 

Some celebrities on Instagram include Zooey Deschanel, Snoop Doog (fo shizzle), The Biebs and Taylor Swift. For a list of over 50 celebs using Instagram, visit PopSugar’s list.

It’s fun to see what your friends and your favorite celebs are up to! All photos are posted in real time.

 
Check out the free Instagram app in the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Android users: look out for Instagram in the near future and be one of the first to get the app by signing up for updates! For a tutorial on how to use Instagram, check out WikiHow.
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Photo Sources:
Jessica Zollman of Instagram (on Wikipedia)
My iPhone

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Chantal Johnson is a senior at James Madison University, studying Media Arts and Design with a concentration in Digital Video and Cinema. Aside from Her Campus JMU, she is involved with University Program Board. Chantal loves hanging out with her friends, listening to her "feel good" playlist on her iPod, or just curling up with a really good book in her spare time. Chantal loves her hometown, Roanoke,Virginia, but can't wait to graduate and explore her opportunities around the world! Within the next 10 years, Chantal's dream job would be becoming "the next Shonda Rhimes"!