After a noticeable shift in what is culturally understood as a "blog", Instagrammers are seizing the "blogger" moniker, leaving traditional bloggers in the dust and title-less.
A "blog" once referred to a website or webpage where one would document their personal thoughts on a single or variety of subject matters in a conversational style of writing. Now, it has been made to include a new genre of bloggers that utilize Instagram as their medium, rather than an actual website.
With the rapid rise of Instagram blogs came the subsequent decrease in the traditional practice of blogging—one that was once highly regarded mainly in the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle industry.
You may be wondering why I make an effort to maintain my own blog if it is socially and statistically guaranteed not to preform as well as an Instagram account?
I do it because I, first and foremostly, love fashion and feel compelled to express that in the most detailed and personal way that I can. It just so happens that words are my best medium to do so. And even though a picture says a thousand words, I always seem to want to say more than that.
On that note, you may be wondering why I created an Instagram page for my blog?
I had begun my blog a year before I created my Instagram account @thefashionpressblog in order to draw attention to my blog. And during that time, it remained at the forefront of my interests. Nearly any picture I posted somehow related back to, or supported an article on my blog.
But as time went on, I quickly got sucked into the world of Instagram—obsessing over my follower count, curating the perfect-looking feed, figuring out ways to maximize the amount of likes my posts would get, and making every moment about taking a picture for Instagram. As I invested more time and energy into my Instagram page, my blog fell further and further down my list of priorities.
But during that time, I was miserable. I physically hated taking pictures. I hated that pressure I felt to constantly take pictures to have something to post. I hated the fact that I got caught up in the statistics. It honestly felt like a burden.
How could something that I was, initially, so passionate about, become something that made me feel so unhappy?
But then I remembered my blog and my passion for writing about fashion; the reasons my Instagram existed in the first place. I remembered how working on my blog never felt like a chore, like maintaining my Instagram did. It never felt like something I had to do, but something I kept up with because it made me genuinely excited and brought me joy.
I never cared about numbers when it came to my blog. My content is born out of reflection, ingenuity, and it requires time and effort to produce. So, I don't really care if a single person or a million people read it. The end result is satisfying enough for me.
I understand that writing is not for everyone, and that so many creators and influencers inspire millions of people on a daily basis with their Instagram accounts alone. But I'm not one of those creators, and I am totally content in knowing that.
And I've reached a point where I'm sharing images on my account, not because I feel like I have to, but because I have the genuine desire to share an outfit that I love, or pieces that are new in my wardrobe.
This shift in my mentality has caused me to reverted back to what I know and love, which is writing about fashion—here on The Fashion Press Blog.