It’s been such a long time since my last blog post that when I went to log in to my site this morning I couldn’t even remember my user name or password. Coincidentally this goes hand-in-hand with what I came here to write about this morning. I honestly stopped worrying about a posting schedule or editorial calendar a while ago, and to most people it probably looks like I gave up on my blog. In a way I guess I have, but not completely.

I still think about things I want to write about, projects I would love to do, photos I want to take, but what I struggle with is the sharing part. I have always been a very private person so living in this world of constant sharing is hard for me. Social media has never been “my thing.” I don’t check Facebook… ever. I don’t read my Twitter feed. But I love Instagram. Why? Because I follow accounts that create amazing images that inspire me every day.

Instagram got a little negative there for a while. Everyone was talking about the algorithm and how frustrated we all are with the changes that have been made. But lately I feel like I’m seeing a shift, not in the app itself but how we’re looking at our experience in the app. We all know it’s harder to grow a following now, and that your post is only going to be seen by a small percentage of your audience. And while that can still be frustrating, I think it’s changing the way we choose what to share.

I think the algorithm challenged all of us to up our creativity. Personally I try to think more about creating something that I am excited to post rather than feeling pressure to post something every day. When I first started blogging I worried more about a cohesive feed that included “filler” photos. Now I only post when I have something to share and only if I feel like it is worth sharing.

I heard a rumor recently that Instagram was considering “hiding” likes. The user would still see the like count but it wouldn’t be displayed publicly under the photo. I actually love this idea! It removes the apprehension to post something out of fear that it “won’t perform well.” We could get back to posting photos we love without worrying about how they will be received.

If you think about it, whether Instagram hides likes or not, we can change our mindset. We can ask ourselves why we are posting something… does it offer value? Does it inspire? Are we posting it because we know it will perform instead of posting what we’re proud of? I’ve noticed I care a lot less about my engagement when I genuinely like the content I’m sharing.

So I’m going to give myself a challenge in the next couple of weeks to share more, and to be more conscious about why I am sharing something. It just takes a change in perspective. Instead of saying “only X amount of people liked/saw my content” we should be saying “wow, X amount of people saw and liked my content!” It’s a simple shift that can really change the way we think about the things we share on social media.

At the end of the day, participating in social media is a choice. We chose to sign up for the latest app. We chose what we want to share and what to keep private. There is no right or wrong way to participate. If you’re like me and you just pop in every once in a while, or if you post throughout the day, we can all right our own rules. xo Bryn