Setting Up An Instagram Account

An online mobile photo-sharing, video-sharing, and social networking service, Instagram allows you to take images and videos and share them through different social networking avenues like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and Tumblr. A unique characteristic of Instagram is that it keeps images to a square shape, like that of Polaroid and Kodak Instamatic pictures, as compared to the 4:3 aspect ratio usually used by mobile device cameras. In addition, users can also apply digital filters to their pictures. The maximum length of videos on Instagram is just 15 seconds.

Created by Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom, Instagram was launched in October 2010. Instagram quickly increased popularity with more than 100 million active users as of April 2012 and more than 300 million as of December 2014. Instagram is being distributed through the Apple App Store, Windows Phone Store, and Google Play. There is support for the app accessible for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and Android devices. Third-party Instagram apps are also accessible through Nokia-Symbian and Blackberry 10 devices.

Instagram was bought by Facebook in April 2012 for an estimated $1 billion in cash and stock. Interestingly enough, in 2013, Instagram grew by 23%. But Facebook, being the parent company, only increased by 3%.

Thus, for you to get an Instagram login, all that is needed from you is a mobile device with an Internet connection. You can also use a desktop or a laptop with an Internet connection—but it is best to just use a mobile device, because that is when the Instagram looks its best. In addition, you would need a web browser program, such as Safari, Google Chrome, and the like.

One of the upsides of having an Instagram log in is that it can be accessed through all devices and web browser programs. Moreover, it can keep you updated of your friends goings ons. You can do the same by posting your own pictures and videos that you think your friends might want to know!

• Go to your web browser program and go to the Instagram home page at www.instagram.com. There are two ways to sign up with Instagram and this depends on your mobile device. One is to download Instagram on the App Store if you have an iOS device like an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. The other way is to download on Google Play if you have other devices. Click on the respective store, as applicable to you.

• You cannot be given the guarantee that the page will look like it does in the image above. For instance, you should remember that there would be instances wherein you may see another person’s Instagram account instead of the last picture. If this occurs, you have to sign out first and then reload the webpage. If the page is still not appearing, just delete the cache, passwords, and/or cookies from your web browser. If it is still not appearing, you can just close your web browser program and open the Instagram page in an altogether different web browser program.

• If you have clicked on “Download on the App Store,” for your Instagram Sign Up, your computer will connect you to the iTunes Store and you will see a page similar to picture number two. As you can see, the application is trying to see if you already have an existing iTunes program or need to download it. If you have no iTunes program yet, click on the “here” link.

• If and when you already have an iTunes program, this link will appear as in picture number three below. Choose iTunes and click on OK.

• From there on, you will be lead to the App Store, wherein you can download Instagram . Afterwards, you can then do an Instagram sign in from scratch or link it with your Facebook.

• On the other hand, if you clicked on “Get it on Google Play,” you will be led to the Google Play website wherein you can install it on your linked device. Click on “Install.”

• Note that it will be also helpful for you if you have a Gmail account in this case so it can sync with any Apps you download from Google Play.

A couple of things to note when you sign up for Instagram. You can upload images and short 15-second videos, follow feeds of other users, and even geotag pictures using latitude and longitude coordinates or even the name of a place. Each year, Instagram showed the top 10 Instagram geotagged locations all over the world, in images.

Instagram made web profiles in 2012, which gave users the ability to use their Instagram account just like a social media site. This allowed users a web profile showing a choice of recently shared images, biographical information, and other details. By 2013, Instagram included a feature called Instagram Direct that gave users the ability to send images only to a particular user or even group of user, not having them available for viewing by all.