This weekend plays host to the 10th WorldWide InstaMeet, a communal event that encourages Instagrammers from all walks of life to team up and share their quirky and imaginative worlds through photography. For the unaware, InstaMeets – as formally defined by Instagram – are, “gatherings of people coming together to connect, explore and celebrate their creativity.“
To join in on the two-day celebration, Instagrammers can visit the official website to browse the different meet-ups and participants in their area. Currently housed on the platform is a vast spectrum of cities from around the world where groups – young and old – have already delved into the experience, posting diverse images, each with its own distinctive twist.
Photo Courtesy of simplysaragrace.com
If by chance there isn’t a nearby event, Instagram encourages its users to take charge and organize their own. The four standard rules to creating one in summation are: keep it simple, use Instagram Direct to thoroughly coordinate, spread the e-word via unique hashtag (e.g. #WWIM10), and most importantly, be inspired—fun themes and exclusive locations always have a way of drawing more people in.
Filmmaker and photographer, Gareth Pon, started making his own InstaMeets in 2012 and hasn’t looked back. In a statement to Instagram, the Johannesburg artist enthusiastically explains, “It [InstaMeets] became an awesome way to meet people and explore the common passion of photography.” He continues, “The most special thing is being able to see people….discovering their creativity (that they never knew they had) or expressing their creativity among friends who share a common passion.”
Along with the chance to make friends with similar interests, the meetings also work as vehicles for professional networking. In an age where your following-to-follower ratio matters just as much as how many likes you receive on a photo of your new pair of Nike Roshes, it can be unanimously agreed upon that calling social media merely important would undeniably be an understatement. Social media is key. With sites like LinkedIn and Twitter, social media is of essence when it comes to better situating oneself in their respected field. Either way, whether attending for the social appeal, career aspect, or both, don’t miss out—and make sure to pick the right filter.
Photo Courtesy of jnsilva.tumblr.com
