Instamums 3, 2.0

[blackmirror1]

Seeing as the original 3 got zapped.

I'm going to sit this thread out for a bit. Nothing interesting was discussed in the latter half of the last one. My views on instagram influencers are unchanged.

Thanks for the new thread @blackmirror1 let's hope it doesn't attract too many trolls this time.

In regard to all of the ads on the instamums pages. It makes me feel a little sad as when it isn’t correctly marked as an AD it can make Mums sat at home on maternity leave wonder why they can’t fulfil the same quality of life and all these nice things.

It often made me feel deflated as there isn’t a hope in hell I could keep up with that kind of lifestyle even though DH earns well.

‘The last thread didn’t cover anyone in glory’. Dawnmumsnet.

I think people having a reasonable discussion about advertising, child safety and the impact of social media is perfectly reasonable. We weren’t all name calling.

What is sock puppeting? And why was the last thread closed? I agree it got clogged with nonsense but why would it get closed? Genuine question.

Posted this on last one just before it got zapped. I too think it's wrong things aren't properly declared. A comment on that particular MOD post said maybe she paid for the zip wire herself. How are people supposed to tell what is what when it's so unclear?

...

I've just been blocked by MOD for simply liking a comment on one of her latest photos.

She's gone zip wiring on her free holiday and took a pic but didn't hashtag it #ad. So someone commented '#ad'. For liking it I've been blocked

The difference between ads on Instagram and most other advertising is that advertisng is almost always broadcast - it's shouted at you by magazines, TVs and so on. It's given to you with no option of feeding back to it

Instagram is social media. Social. It's not broadcast, it's two way

Except it's not now is it? These 'ads' are not obvious ads like the ones we spot in our feeds that are clearly paid for by a brand.

Having now been blocked for not even saying anything - just liking something someone else said - I'd bet a lot of others have been similarly blocked, therefore there will only ever be sycophants allowed, which is pretty outrageous tbh. 'If you don't kiss my ass and take everything I'm shoving down your throat without question I will block you'. There is little value in such vacuous PR.

Ya for another new thread, Blackmirror 😂

*Ta

Thanks for new thread, watching with interest.
Shall we all stop discussing what went wrong with the last one and move on, not giving them anymore attention and letting what was a robust discussion get derailed.

I enjoyed some of the last thread before it descended into unkindness and bonkersness. Hopefully we could get this back on track. If nothing else, it's quite nice having somewhere to discuss IG's we follow - a bit like how you'd discuss a TV show!

Another thing I was thinking is that perhaps that Instagram could implement a business account option.

So they’d have some kind of label to let us all know it was a business and an advertising platform so we can make an informed decision to follow or not. And then have a social option for people just wanting to Instagram without advertisements and paid partnerships.

They could also have to pay a fee per month/year for the business account.

Signing in as I'm bloody annoyed the last one got zapped.

I'd like to see if Londonmummyblog wants to contribute to this one

Thanks Blackmirror 👍🏻. I've deleted IG (again!) I hope the useful message from the threads survives! I suggest if you see something you're uncomfortable on IG re ads you report it to the ASA. They need a big nudge. Peace out.

If you don't kiss my ass and take everything I'm shoving down your throat without question I will block you'

I think this is spot on. And (I said it on the last thread) I'm a bit disappointed in that after how MOD handled Cerealgate.

I know she (or her PR team) isn't the only one who does this either.

@GreenSeededGrape interested in your comment on the last thread.

What's made you come over to the dark side?

@Fruitbowl2 I feel a bit sad that you've deleted IG.

When I first started using IG, it was ad free and none of the accounts were pushing adverts. It really helped me through quite a dark period in my life and I made lots of actual and online friends, and learned loads about photography. It was a really positive place.

Those kinds of accounts are still out there, you just have to look for them.

I’ve read through all the last few threads but haven’t yet commented - just wanted to say that I really appreciate the discussion. It’s made me think and I’ve gone through and stopped following a lot of the instamum accounts because I realised that essentially I had been buying things (mainly slogan tops) unconsciously to try to fit in. Ultimately that’s down to my insecurities but this thread has been really helpful to kind of see through the shiny veneer of some of the accounts and realise that essentially they are just selling stuff.

I’ve been following these threads, thankful that it isn’t just me to find all the materialism, non disclosure, privacy issues around children etc unsettling.

I found YouTube a while ago and found it gray to get real reviews of products from real people, then the ads started creeping in. People gave up their jobs and started doing it full time, sponsorship became the norm. And suddenly it’s not what I liked about it anymore. Same with blogs and Instagram.

Also the sisterhood nonsense just drives me mad. Women supporting women is crazy, as if I will just blindly support everything someone does just because they are a woman and so am I.

The whole thing is just one big advert and not worth it anymore.

It did seemsuch a great app for small businesses. I think it's quite sad that it's changedso drastically and now people can just have big businesses or not get any exposure. Accounts selling children get prime position and a small account with someone working hard to make and sell products gets pushed down and then often closes their business.

I'm a lurker but here's my two pence.

Blocking people and deleting questions or criticism screams megalomaniac to me.

I have a small business and have business IG profile. I have a paltry 1k followers so not in the same league with Instamums at all. But since it's a business, I accept that I may get a unpleasant comment or someone questioning pricing, products etc. It hasn't happened yet but if it will, as long as there's no name calling, I would try my best to answer/explain and be as transparent as possible. And also take the feedback on board and mull over if the comment had a point even if it stings at first.

When the first Insta Mums thread made waves back in September (?) I was really surprised how awfully many of those Instamums reacted. Calling people haters is so immature, I can't believe grown women resort to that sort of stupidity. I followed few out of interest but the only one I still like is Esther Coren.

If you expose your homelife in exchange of freebies, then you must accept it won't be just hunning from your followers. Like the OP said, social media is a two way street. Anything else screams of megalomaniac, immature, piss has gone to head personality.

MOD isn’t selling the holiday very well.
Looks dull

@Mumofkids back in t'olden days of IG, if an account was a business, it was made quite clear in their bio and posts.

I miss those days I miss the old IG. I hate the new algorithm, not because I care about people missing my posts, but why is Instagram deciding what posts I see and don't see.

I blame fucking, bastard Facebook

MOD isn’t selling the holiday very well.
Looks dull

Why are you reading her posts/clicking on so much if you don't like her? (I think I know which one you mean) This thread's bonkers.

Afternoon all,

We think it might be useful to post a repeat of our closing message on the previous thread, just so we're all clear.

OP, we're happy for you (or anyone else) to re-start this thread but please can everyone be aware that we'll be watching it carefully - posts that aren't in the spirit will be deleted and we'll be suspending any folk we think go beyond the pale. This new thread will need to be quite different in tone from the previous ones or we'll again be forced to take it down - please do bear all this in mind before posting.

We can also see that there's been a fair amount of sock puppeting going on on previous threads. This is against our site rules, so anyone on this new thread who is found to be posting under different usernames or from multiple accounts will have their accounts suspended.

Please let's try to keep this thread on the right track.