Hi guys <3 I'm getting so excited to be releasing so many new ongoing series to my blog!! This one is my:

Topic of discussion

 page. I see it becoming controversial and exciting ;). If you know me personally, or probably if you

don't

know me personally, you may have heard that I have a lot to say. Good and bad. It killed me to add all these new pages to my blog and not have a complete unfiltered outlet to release all my opinions. (I have a lot) LOL. I really do think it's important to stand up for things if you feel they're wrong, or tell everyone about something you love, if you love it! You have a voice!!! I find so many bloggers only write about things that they love, but I want to hear about the things you hate too. I want to read about honest experiences and opinions, so here are mine. 

This week's topic of discussion is Social Media Etiquette. This is a subject I find myself going on about all the time, for good and bad. Lol. When I say social media, I mainly mean Instagram because honestly I don’t use Facebook and Twitter all that much. I use Facebook to post on my

Photography & Art page

, and my personal page to dump an album of random unfiltered photos I’m just ready to delete off my phone. I go through every morning out of routine and click “

like

” on all the photos of my sister & cousin's kids, laugh a little about a Facebook fight about all the things that are “

so wrong with the city

” or a cat video gone viral, -and then I close the app. 

Instagram is a whole other story. It is such an insane land to get lost in. All day long. I love Instagram. I love it because it’s a community of all the things I love, and literally takes place across the entire world. I remember reading somewhere that Instagram is comparable to a magazine that you curate yourself. You “subscribe” to images of photographers you like, and stories from writers you like:

Follow

. You’re tired of their same old story, or same old picture of their dog?:

Unfollow

. 

I love this platform because I have made so many friends across the world that have the same interests as me. It’s given me a platform to build a fanbase and to expose my voice, photography and art, across the world. That’s pretty cool. As much as I love this little community, of course there are a few things that enrage me to the max. Lol. Just like anything. So here we go, a few IG tips I would give to select users. 

Be real.

Be yourself! Be honest!

Be who you areeeeeee.

 It’s so much more authentic to hear that someone had a really shitty day and here are all the reasons why. Then pretending everything’s amazing all the time. I hate when I see a friend of mine who’s in a raging fight with her boyfriend, then 1h later I refresh social media and see this adorable photo of them kissing with some quote. Come on. Be real. Be transparent. Or really, don't put anything up at all if it doesn't feel genuine. I find I connect with people who are honest in their content and writing. What fun is it hearing how amazing someone’s life is all the time? That’s not real life. You want to know that I ran out of gas last week and had the worst week balancing, dog sitting, my boyfriend on night shift and visiting my grandmother in the hospital? I’ll tell you. I’m not being negative, I’m being honest. Because it’s not all good. As much as Instagram can seem like this fake, happy, made up life, it doesn’t have to be. I try to make mine very transparent and relatable. As my girl Jill always says,

smoke and mirrors

. Let’s end thattttttttt! Be honest, tell us the juicy stuff, the not so pretty things and of course, the beautiful things you love!! Just mix in some honesty. 

Instagram stories.

This one is a funny one. For those of you who aren’t active on your own Insta stories, you might not know this but,

everyone can see that you watched it.

It’s just like Snapchat in the way that you can see everyone who’s viewed your story. The algorithm for this is still something I have not come close to figuring out, but it’s creepy. Every day, people who don’t follow me, watch my story, show up to the top of my list. Sometimes it’s ex boyfriends, ex girlfriends of boyfriends, new girlfriends, ex friends, people that some reason rufuse to just “

follow

”. But, I’ll let you in on a little secret:

We see you.

Lol. So let’s just go ahead and not make it weird and follow the people you creep on every day. Am I right?

Post original content.

I can’t even begin to tell you how many times my photography has been ripped off and direct copies that placed side by side look nearly identical. My friends often screenshot profiles and send them to me. I understand that photography on Instagram is often inspiring and we all do love ideas that other people post.

But put your own spin on it

. It takes photographers so many years and trial and error to develop a style. So it really sucks to have it half assed and ripped off. Think of your house, your space, your real interests and hobbies. Think about what you really love and what

you

find beautiful. Then -

take cool photos of them

. You are the only

you

, so use that as inspiration instead of trying to appear like someone else. Make it

you

.

Throw a like on there.

Kayley

,

Cassandra

and I had a very interesting conversation in our hotel room in Toronto recently and it really got me thinking. We talked about all the people who see our photographs, but show no sign of acknowledging it. h

iiiiiiiiiii!

 I think of it like instead of passing by a cute lady in the grocery store with no expression, let's give that little old lady a little smile and nod. Throw a like on there!

If you like it, LIKE IT!

Hahaha. We had the same conversation about people who comment on our photos or don’t comment on our photos. Cassandra said that she follows a zillion accounts but would never comment on most of them.  Even if she wanted to, if they were a bigger account, a person she doesn’t know personally or a celebrity, she'd just keep scrolling. This was so interesting to me. Kayley and I’s argument was, wouldn’t you want to know if a stranger loved your designs or a new location you're opening?? Of course she agreed. I’m a sucker, if I love something, I’ll comment on it. Literally if I’m scrolling through and see a picture of a beach at sunset and think “

love

” in my head, -I’ll comment:

love

. It’s out of habit for me, and I personally don’t think it’s weird to comment nice things on strangers photos. How many times are you scrolling through your feed and you stop and you’re like,

wow, that’s a nice photo

. Or,

I love those shoes, I wonder if she got them around here.

 Or,

I love that dress, it would be perfect for the wedding I have to go to in June.

COMMENT THESE THINGS!

A

. you never know, you could make someone’s day.

B.

You could get a response that would make your day! Spread the positivity. The internet is such a more open

and

personal space these days. If you read someone’s blog post that turned your day around, or you related to so much that it struck a chord. Tell them!! You never know, your favourite internet guru could answer you and you could end up being friends. 

So there you have it. Be a real human, follow the people you creep on, post original content, and spread some love. 

Hahaha. 

I would love to know your Instagram loves and hates, so send them my way! 

xx

Allie