Facebook, Whatsapp and Viber are not the only ones which have created a lot of buzz among internet users. A lot of people are talking about “Instagram” these days. It is being said that this app will bring another revolution in the social networking service. Almost everyone has atleast heard about this new application – Instagram.

But a lot of people are not completely aware about this application, this new social networking service and its features. This article is a dummy’s guide about Instagram – its complete app review. In this article we will try to answer all the related to this application. What exactly is Instagram – what are its feature, why has it become so popular, what’s so special about this new application.

• Launched on October 6, 2010
• Become #1 app in the Apple App Store within 24 hrs of launch
• iPhone App of the Week
• Record for quickest app to reach 1 million downloads (Dec 2010)
• An Instagram photo made the cover of the Wall Street Journal
• Reached 100 million active users in April 2012

What is Instagram

Instagram is an online photo sharing, video sharing application. So what’s new – even Facebook and Whatsapp allows photo/video sharing among friends.

It is a social networking service that allow its users to take pictures and videos (from the app itself) – apply filters to these pictures/videos and share them on different social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr etc. You can also modify (apply digital filters) to already taken pictures (from Gallery). In short – you take picture, apply some filters (beautify the image) and share the app anywhere you like.

• Another distinguishing feature of this app is it take the image as a square shape and not 16:9 aspect ratio (which is normally used by mobile phones).
• Originally Instagram was just a photo sharing service, however they have now updated this to include video record and sharing for upto 15 seconds. This video service came only last month (June 2013).

Who made Instagram – its Inventors

Instagram was created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. This app was launched in October 2010. From then it has never looked back – they are growing pretty fast. As of April 2012, it reached over 100 million active users.

Instagram Availablity

This app is officially avaialble for Apple iOS device and Android Mobiles. Currently you can download and use Instagram application on iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android Camera Mobiles (which have running on 2.2 Froyo and above). Instagram is not officially out for Blackberry mobiles (though some people have unofficial app for BB 10 OS). Below are the download links :

• Instagram for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch – Download Link
• Instagram for Android Mobiles – Download Link

Instagram Features

Below find the new features about this cool application.

Instagram Hashtags

When you share you photos you can add tags to your pictures. You can add tags to your photos and videos that will make them visible on public tag pages. Adding tags to your photos is a great way to find new followers and share your photos with more people.

1. Take a photo/video and choose a filter
2. On the screen you see after choosing a filter, type your #hashtag in the Caption field (example: #flower)
3. If you want to tag a post you’ve already uploaded, just include your #hashtag in a comment on your photo

After you tag your post with a hashtag, you’ll be able to tap on the hashtag to see a page that shows all photos and videos users have uploaded with that hashtag.

• Numbers are allowed in hashtags. However, special characters, such as $ or %, will not work.
• You can only tag your own posts, not other users’ photos/videos.
• The limit on the number of tags you can use on a post is 30. If you include more than 30 tags on a single photo/video, your comment will fail to post.

Read: Tips on using Instagram Hashtags

Scale, Crop, Apply Filters and Add Caption

You can crop the pictures (resize). You can only crop photos that you select from your photo library. If you want to crop a photo you take using the Instagram app, simply return to the camera view and select the photo from your library. To crop a photo, pinch and move the photo to adjust what content fits within the frame. Use the grid to aid in framing the photo.

Apply Filter

• Once you’ve taken a photo or selected one from your device, you can edit it by applying effects and filters.
• You can choose from a variety of filters : willow, sierra etc. Swipe to the side to see additional filters.
• You can even add filters to your videos (not just pictures). After you’ve recorded your video, tap Next. Tap a filter at the bottom of the screen to preview how it will look with your video. Make sure to swipe to the left to scroll through all your options!

Once you’ve selected a photo and added any effects or filters you want, you can add a caption and include your location as well.

Social

Instagram is like any other social networking website – it is based on having friends and followers. You follow people just like Twitter and people can follow you back. At the top of your profile (or anyone’s profile) you will see the username, profile pic, how many photos have been uploaded, how many followers the account has, and how many they are following. Updates and picturs will be visible in your stream of the people you follow. You can like the pictures or comment on them.

Why so popular ?

• Everyone now has a mobile phone with Camera. We all love taking pictures – Instagram makes it so easy to beautify the images, manage them and instantly share on social networking sites. It acts like a bridge between Camera and Social networking sites.
• Its very easy to use – Instagram is simple to use. Anyone and everyone can take pictures, apply filters and share them. Now you need not to be camera expert inorder to capture beautiful images. It allows people to exert their creativity by choosing which filter and effect fit a photo best.
• Photo Vs Text Update – Pictures can say a thousand words. Its hard to communicate in words, sometimes photos make the task easier. If I am traveling and found something interesting I would not blog about it but I prefer sharing pictures on social networking sites. Photos are medium of the future.
• Photographs : You will find some of the best pictures on Instagram. Photographers just love the application and use it day to day.
• It is based on the concept of Social Networking – follow other people and find other followers. Make friends with people – this concept is itself viral.
• Facebook last year (in 2012) bought Instagram – for a cool $1 billion. That’s a huge amount of money considering the fact that Instagram does not make any money!