You Can Now Hide Post Like Counts on Your Instagram Feed

Instagram has just announced that it is giving its users the option to hide like counts of posts on feeds they follow.  The decision came after testing the feature since 2019.

Instagram also allows us, its users, to choose whether we want to see the Like counts on others’ posts. You will also be able to turn off Like counts on your own posts if you want to.

According to the news online, the company wants to make their users' experience more pleasant, without the pressure that "Likes" and similar reactions usually cause. 

In a blog post, Instagram and Facebook admit that people have different views on like counts - some are bothered by them, while others use the count to know what is trending and popular online.  That is why they give their users a choice.  The company hopes that this option will allow us to focus more on our photos and content from other users.  

You can hide like counts on others’ posts through the new Posts section in Settings. This control applies to all the posts in your feed.  You can also hide like counts before sharing a post and turn it on or off anytime.  These controls will also come to Facebook "in the weeks to come."

I don't really mind how many likes or reactions my posts on Instagram and Facebook receive. I'm just happy posting and sharing my photos and activities.  But some people I know actually ask their friends to like their posts! I think it gives them fulfillment to see the little red hearts on their posts. 

The downside to this is it could lead to issues with one's self-esteem.  A friend once told me that one of her kids felt sad when their vacation photos didn't get many likes.

For some, however, they capitalize on these metrics to gain popularity and monetize their activities.  It really boils down to individual preferences and purpose. 

Muji Pens and Cat Clips

I love Muji products. I actually visit their store in Robinson's Magnolia every week.  I especially love their desk and stuff organizers.  I also bought some bedroom linen from them because of their simple, no-frills style.

Recently I bought a pen from the store and was surprised to see how smooth it writes on paper. I've heard about people who actually collect these pens and now I know why. I bought another set of three pens and might buy more. They cost more than ordinary pens but they actually are worth the price.

While buying the pens, I also discovered some paper clips shaped like cats.  I like cats and these clips are so cute.  I am not sure if they can hold some of the paper stuff I have at work but I think they will look nice on my table and in the Muji desk organizers I have on my desktop.

Next time I visit the store, I will get the dog clips too!

Video Comes to Instagram

I just finished downloading the update of Instagram, the hugely popular photo sharing/social network app. The biggest update of course is video.  Users can now post 15 seconds of video to share among their friends.

 

It's so easy to use. Open the app then tap on the camera icon.  You will get to another screen with a video camera icon.  Tap on it and you're ready to go.  Press the record button and record anything you want: your new puppy running around the house, the kids playing basketball or even your partner cooking your favorite food. You don't have to shoot everything in one take. Lift your finger and the recorder automatically stops.

You don't need to worry about camera shake since Instagram incorporated an image stabilizer feature they named Cinema.  For now, it only works with iPhone 4s and higher.  Don't worry Android fans, it's coming to you soon.

 

Instagram also created 13 new filters exclusively for the video feature.  You can choose one of these filter and instantly preview its effect during play before sharing you post the video. Sound is instantly on and all posts are in square format, just like the photos.  Also when you post a video you can chose a scene as a “cover shot” which will be displayed while the rest of your video plays.

Severe Thunderstorms down Instagram, Pinterest

Thanks to Mother Nature two of my favorite  web sites went down today.

Severe thunderstorms in North Virginia caused an outage to the Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud, which took down Instagram, Pinterest, Netflix and other cloud based sites.  

Although the sites have a local hub here in Asia, it appears that all services are still routed to North America. Hence, this problem. 

I tried loading some pictures on Instagram and either I waited for eternity for the site to come up or I just got pieces of it.  Netizens expressed their frustrations on Twitter and and the affected companies also took to social networking sites to send their messages that they're having some technical problems and were fixing it.  

It's not the first time that Amazon's cloud server was affected by outages due to weather. Many tech experts are beginning to worry that this may lead some industries to have second thoughts on embracing the cloud technology.