In the last few days, Instagram brought out a new feature, or app, or both, depending how you look at it, and these are my thoughts after spending some time with it. I’m referring to IGTV, also known as Instagram TV.
My first impression of IGTV
Tag: Instagram
The problem with Facebook
Facebook knows more about me than I do. The Cambridge Analytica row hit the social networking site right before the new Europe-wide GDPR came into force. And questions about user data and privacy had already circulated for years beforehand. But what actually is the problem with Facebook? I put it down to one thing: the problem with Facebook is that it grew too much too quickly.
Instagram’s next feature should be VR focussed
Instagram; the social networking site built upon photographs of pets and food. Every now and then, a new feature will pop up. Whether it be Stories, Carousel, or even moving away from 1:1 pictures and video. But there's one feature not yet taken up, that I am keen to see adopted; the ability to share 360° content.
Why Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony to EU officials in Brussels was disappointing
Mark Zuckerberg was praised by the President of the European Parliament for allowing his testimony to EU officials to be live-streamed. And the fact that the CEO travelled to Europe to answer these questions should also be recognised, even if he has turned down multiple offers to speak to a UK parliamentary group. But the session has left me with a mixed response.
Photographing snow in 360º
Two weeks ago, the Midlands was hit by heavy snow. But with it came an opportunity to take my Theta S camera out for some photos. All I had was the camera, a selfie stick, and some gloves. Taking photos in 360º takes a little bit more planning than any other photo. Not only do you have the framing, lighting, and general set up to worry about, you also have the 'hide factor' to contest with too. How easy is it to remove yourself from the shot?
MA project: The finished piece
The aim of the project was to explore interactive video, and to find a way of providing additional context to the viewer. To do so, I created four videos. The first was my default, a non-interactive version to act as a point of comparison. Two videos provided interactivity by allowing the user to control the content on screen, and these were achieved using my own web-code and an online tool (Thinglink). The final video, exploring the ability for the user to control the direction-of-view within the video, used 360º cameras to create a virtual reality video.
How to create panoramic photos on Instagram using carousel
Instagram brought out its new carousel feature earlier this year, and one of its benefits is the ability to share panoramic pictures. In this blog post, I'm going to guide you through the process of creating such post with ordinary panoramic photos, and photos taken in 360 degrees.
MA project: Video editing part 1
I've now reached a point where all interview footage, flat and 360º, have been imported in Final Cut Pro X ready for editing. With other commitments, I haven't spent as much time editing these as I'd originally hoped, however I have reviewed all the footage collected and started to note time-codes of interest.
Covering an election on Instagram
Following the research I conducted through my News on Instagram posts, I reported on the election for Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority using predominantly mobile journalism techniques, and publishing only to Instagram.
What I’ve learned about publishing news to Instagram
A struggling engagement with young people has resulted in news organisations experimenting with their use of social media as a way of addressing a widening gap in their audience. In a series of blog posts, I have examined the use of Instagram as a platform for distributing news content. I found some common trends and good practices.
Interview: BBC News social media editor Mark Frankel talks Instagram
Mark Frankel is the social media editor of BBC News. He managed a team of audience engagement producers and writers who post regular content to Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Instagram. I'm interested in Instagram, and why the BBC is so keen to explore this platform for news.
Publishing news with Instagram’s latest carousel feature
Since its introduction last week, Instagram's newest feature serves new and exciting opportunities for news organisations. In a move that now allows for up to 10 pictures and/or videos to be shared within a single post, or carousel, news organisations can utilise the techniques they learned for Stories to create permanent news content.
Instagram’s latest feature opens up opportunity for news content
Tonight Instagram revealed a new feature that allows its users to share up to 10 pictures and videos within a single post. Like Stories, but as a permanent post. The idea is that you can swipe from left to right between the pictures, or videos.
Using Instagram Stories for news content
Instagram has two ways of publishing content: its timeline, and through its Stories feature. Stories were introduced in August last year and unlike timeline pictures and video, are only available to view for up to 24 hours after posting. It's very similar to Snapchat, and designed so "you don’t have to worry about overposting".
Data visualisations on Instagram
Data is a valuable product for journalists to not only source news stories, but to prove and disprove beliefs. However data on its own is unattractive, and isn't interesting to a general audience. Instead, visualisations capture the meaning of data, and should present it in such a way that provides understanding, while also making it engaging.
How to create news video for Instagram
I've put together a quick guide for creating a video, specifically for Instagram using Final Cut Pro X. Despite Instagram now allowing portrait and landscape videos on their timeline, this example will be creating a square video - which is quite common across social media sites.
Ten ways to use video for news on social media
This is a list of what I consider are ten of some of the best examples of news video on social media, including content from: BBC, Bloomberg, Press Association, NASA, Vice, and others.
