And then Instagram decided to sell your pictures

Being a non-Instagram user, I was actually happy to find out that this week's buzz under the "social media platforms screwing over their users" category did NOT make any difference to me, for once. 

On Monday, Instagram updated its "Terms & Conditions" and the news were not very well received by their users. Under the "Rights" section on their updated Terms of Use page, the following paragraph was the main reason for the angry comments that followed the update:

"2 - Some or all of the Service may be supported by advertising revenue. To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you. If you are under the age of eighteen (18), or under any other applicable age of majority, you represent that at least one of your parents or legal guardians has also agreed to this provision (and the use of your name, likeness, username, and/or photos (along with any associated metadata)) on your behalf."

Basically saying they might sell your pictures and keep all the profit to themselves. Oh, and of course, that you have already agreed to that. The changes are supposed to be effective starting on January 16th, but the reaction received by the mobile photo-sharing company right after the news were posted came way faster than that.  

Even celebrities such as Pink, DJ and music producer Deadmau5 and canadian model Coco Rocha went to Twitter to express their opinion, check it out:

4k+ RT's

Of course I wouldn't make you go all the way to Deadmau5's Instagram profile to see the classy photo (over 20k likes up until the publication of this post - I know, right?!):

a moment of silence to get over this person's nails

Coco Rocha's two cents:

And on her Tumblr:

The reaction all over the internet was obviously so huge and instantaneous, Instagram had no choice but to do something to try to control the PR disaster. On the following day, they published this thank you slash let me explain note, signed by the company's co-founder Kevin Systrom. This is part of it:

Our intention in updating the terms was to communicate that we’d like to experiment with innovative advertising that feels appropriate on Instagram. Instead it was interpreted by many that we were going to sell your photos to others without any compensation. This is not true and it is our mistake that this language is confusing. To be clear: it is not our intention to sell your photos. We are working on updated language in the terms to make sure this is clear.

Hm. Not sure how "you agree that a business may pay us to display your stuff without any compensation to you" can be considered "confusing language", but now we will have to wait and see what happens. I guess I wouldn't be surprised if, in a couple of weeks, it simply turns out that Instagram meant what they said the first time - their decision of stop displaying the photos on Twitter also seemed kind of weird and as far as we know there wasn't obvious money involved. In the end of the day, the "moral questions" on what's right or wrong actually go back to Facebook, owner of Instagram since April of this year. Their privacy policies are not exactly known for being the nicest to users.

Good luck, Instagrammers. I'm out of this one. #nofilter #nocry 

Define: Creativity

Creativity is a heavily used concept in the fashion industry, yet there is no absolute definition of the word. Nonetheless this term is fundamental for any company to grasp, it’s a learning tool to become different from your competition; it’s what makes Chanel different from Versace or Apple different from Windows.

However, the average consumer today almost always look up to a celebrity when she decides what to wear, even though the industry tell us to be “distinctive” or “different”, were still typing into Google “What dress did Blake Lively wore on Gossip Girl on Monday?”. Steal Her Style, a dedicated tumblr account can help the urge, where a younger demographic can find the dress Selena Gomez wore on Ellen DeGeneres just a week ago, or the poncho Kim Kardashian wore while boarding a fight at LAX. This tumblr even adds a link, where you can purchase the identical garment.

If she is an older demographic, a similar blog titled What Kate Wore takes it one step further. They not only can she find items that the Duchesses of Cambridge wore while going to the hair salon just yesterday, bloggers will find coordinating outfits that mimic her style, cheaper versions of her Jenny Packman dress, and inform their followers on fashion updates from Kate's favorite designers. Stylists will become non-existent if the web takes over with similar blogs. Consumers are not only curious, but as stated before, consumers “flood the web to consume anything and everything that was in connection with the movie”, and in this case its celebrities. Now there is nothing wrong with this idea, I’ve been a culprit myself, but how is it that so many industry executives look for the “out of the ordinary”, yet we all look (in one way or another) like the ordinary girl down the street. Where did the creativity go?

Let me leave you all with this, what is your definition of creativity and how do you feel about blogs like Steal her Style or What Kate Wore?

Ciao,

Julia Mickus

Who is going to Tumblr in next?

by Tara Chang

Watch out Twitter! There is a new fashion-following in social media tumbling their way into town.

For those who don’t know, Tumblr is a blogging platform that allows users to customize their tumblelog effortlessly by posting text, images, videos, quotes and links directly from your browser, phone or email. The “reblog” button allows users to repost content they wish to share and has a greater chance of going viral.

So how popular will Tumblr become?

This is an image-heavy social media platform and has recently reported that 180 of the top 1,000 blogs are fashion related. Because of this, more and more fashion brands have been joining Tumblr in order to increase their reach.

Oscar de la Renta and Kate Spade are a few of the recent fashion brands to enter the Tumblr world, allowing users to view candid images of the designers and specific pieces from their labels.

I am thinking Tumblr may have potential to become the next high-tech medium for up to the minute fashion hits and news. Which fashion brand will Tumblr in next?