Cheryl John
We all know what Instagram is, we all are there, we all have a pretty hippie life there too. We know that the Instagram community is alive and is growing strong every day with millions of people signing in, uploading and loving each other’s pictures. But there are some things that a lot of us miss; proper engagement and a way to wow possible followers.
I was invited to the first ever Instameet that happened in Indore, an event which was as frolicking as the name states. The event was organised by Aakash Ranison, a fellow passionate traveller who bought in Radisson Blu, Red FM and Red Bull together to give Indore a perfect afternoon to learn Instagram tricks.
It was an only invite event, truckloads of people went over with their fair chances, but only a few got the privilege to attend the perfectly planned event with great speakers and powerful tips.
About 100 Instagrammers showed up to this meeting who were all from different genres. Some were literals, some travellers, some of them were social media freaks while a lot of others were food fanatics. It was a great pool of crowd. The meeting was focussed on taking these Instagrammers on a ride by focusing on topics like taking travelling from just your passion to profession, the natural and efficient ways to phone photography and making the best use of Instagram.
Asking Aakash Ranison about the event, he said, “I love the concept of a community that is dedicated to inspiring each other through photos, and Instameets are an excellent way to meet a small slice of that massive user base. Even if you’re not a big Instagrammer, a meet is a great opportunity to get some interesting snaps of some interesting people.” He added, “Our focus was to give a direction to the lot that we had there at the event and to let them know the Instagram policies.” He wished to create an event that could be fun for all the newbies, an event that gives a lot to take back home.
Busting out all myths senior photographer Tanveer Farooqui said, “Photography is something that comes from the heart. Your device is a medium to pour that heart out. It is not necessary to carry an expensive camera or a DSLR in hand but feelings that can be out shown in the pictures.”
Talking about the session and all that I could conclude from talking to others, a participant, Simran Singh Arora, a food blogger and content writer at CityShor said, “The entire session helped me grow on a personal note. I never knew I was losing followers with the wrong way of the usage of hashtags. Hashtags are a blessing if used right.” Ayush Soni, a photographer, added, “The pictures are our soul. You need to connect with people and portray a hundred complimentary emotions. When I started photography, I experimented with a lot of shapes, frames and themes and I landed here, running The Nomad Soul with my heart and love.”
The camaraderie that all Instagrammers shared filled us with a feeling of want for more. I hope more such events happen to give us a fun insight again; a Twitter workshop maybe.
Aakash, I hope you are reading this!
