This is my Instagram journey and why I think you should give it a try.

I thought this was worthy of my first blog post here on LinkedIn. Unlike most of my posts, this one isn’t about business, rather, it’s meant to be more inspirational or educational.

My adventure in social media began back in November 2010. I started with Twitter because that was all the rage at the time and I wanted to learn more about social media because my son wanted to open his own social media accounts. I figured I better get ahead of him and learn about this to keep track of him (that only lasts so long). Twitter was very appealing at first, but like most platforms that mature, some of the shine begins to wear off after some time. I use Twitter quite regularly still, but I much prefer Instagram.

In March 2013 my son was spending his usual “week on” with me at my house and asked me to open an Instagram account. I kind of balked at first but I took him up on his offer. What started out as fun and a way for us to connect turned into an immediate competition for followers. Every other week he’d come back we had to compare these numbers. My 7 to his 38 in the first week. My 13 to his 57 the next week and on, and on. After 1 month, I finally had enough. He left for a week to stay at his moms and I watched YouTube videos on Instagram, I read articles; I also sent messages to larger profile users and received some responses as to how they grew their followings. So a week later, my son comes over to my house and immediately after he comes through the door he says, “I’m up to 152 followers dad, how many do you have?” With a smirk on my face I proudly said “283 followers”. His jaw dropped and his eyes went wide. “Bullshit!” he exclaimed. I handed him my phone “There’s no way!” he said. In continued disbelief he dropped my phone and went to his phone to check my profile. It was true; I was way ahead by almost double. He ranted for the remainder of the week and brought it up occasionally after that. I waited almost a year to admit to him that I got tired of his cockiness every time he showed up and just bought 250 followers to kick his butt. By then it didn’t matter, I had a good understanding of Instagram. My account and followers were growing naturally. 

As a parent, you can appreciate how short your time with your children are. My son was gradually moving into his teen years and I just wanted to be able to continue to connect with him and especially make sure he was safe online. He’s smart and almost an adult now so the need isn’t as great as it once was, but we’ve always been close. Now friends, girls and teenage angst get in the way and Instagram still gives us another way to stay connected. Even though he’s grown out of it and moved on to things like Snapchat, he still likes hopping into his dad’s posts on occasion.

For me, Instagram is fun. It’s my creative release, my daily life online, my photo album to the world. Viewing pictures of faraway places, unique architecture, vacations, inspiring quotes, and more can be fun. You can get lost in it when you need a break from another meeting or a difficult day. You can meet other people from around the world or have a laugh at their latest storyline. You can participate however you want. And sometimes, it’s just maintaining a connection with family, in this case, my son.