iPhoneography, Instagram, and the Social Media

Every sunset, cloud, meal and moment this life can muster will be captured, filtered and shared thanks to inumerous smartphones on hand at any given time. Finally, we had access to devices with acceptable megapixels, speed and digital functionality that allowed us to leave the home without a 'bulky' stand alone camera, and better yet they allowed us to instantaneously share all that we could see. While mobile phones have had cameras since well before the smartphone era, this desire to capture life as often as possible only came into being in the iPhone era.

iPhoneography has stirred up a fair bit of controversy in the recent past, especially in the world of journalism. The concerns have revolved around two main issues - the first being the experimental growth of 'citizen journalism'. Suddenly, everyone you know has a 10MP camera in their pocket at all times, at the ready for any newsworthy event that may unfold before them. In the ten minutes it takes for the professional photojournalist to get into the action and capture a few photos with their pricey DSLR, Frank's iPhone has already snapped 15 photos and videos, uploaded them to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube, and already hit 130 likes.

The second debatable concern is the use of filter apps, such as Instagram and Hipstamatic. Though these two apps can create great opportunities, their filters can be seen as the antithesis of creativity. They make all photos look the same, they require nearly no thought or creative input; one click and you're done.

As a growing trend, it is comparable to other things that succeeded on the web as well. Why did YouTube grow so successfully on the internet? It gave people a place where they could always find something great to share; and they allowed us to take those videos and talk about them however and wherever we liked.

Is the digital world swallowing up creative industries like such as photography, writing and video-making, or is it opening up new dimensions for us instead? Let us know what you think.