Blogging as a creative activity is not exactly new in 2018. But the newest player in the ‘blogosphere’
– Instagram – is transforming it. The trend of creating Instagram ‘pages’ about
various areas of interest is one that has spread world-wide, especially among
the adolescent and twenty-something bunch. And Goa is no exception.
A number of Goan youngsters have taken to Instagram, adopting it
as their creative space, as well as a means to reach out to others who share
similar interests. Several have started pages in fields ranging from fashion,
travel and lifestyle, to poetry and prose, to art, photography, music, dance
and so on. You name it and young Goans are ‘insta-blogging’ about it!
The motivations behind their blogging
efforts, we learn, are many. However, they primarily come down to two things:
creation and connection. With several youngsters harbouring creative talents
and looking for an outlet, blogging, particularly on Instagram, is the perfect
platform for it. With no excessive expense involved to start up a page is the
easiest thing – all one needs is a cell-phone, and of course, content, which
these bloggers have no shortage of. “I love writing, always have! And I love
fashion. So my blog is a creative outlet for me to showcase my style to the
world,” says Nyeree Viegas, who runs a fashion page on Instagram called
@thenyereediaries. “I always knew I wanted to do something creative in the
field of fashion, so I thought a blog would be a great start.”
And once creative content is out
there, it is equally easy for the bloggers to connect with an audience, which,
for them, is as important as creativity. “The main goal I had when I started
off was to connect with people… and now I can confidently say that I have
connected with a great number, to basically share in their sorrows and joys,
and every little thing that makes their lives what it is,” says Declan Da Silva
Pereira, who has a poetry page called @ threesixteen316. “As every other
teenager does, I too had my own set of problems. Earlier, I used to write for
my eyes only, but soon I realised that there are many other people out there
probably going through the same thing as I am. You know how you scroll down your
feed and suddenly read a post and think, ‘Oh my gosh, this is exactly how I
feel.’ I want to be that for all my readers,” states Sonia Sabnis, who runs a
poetry page called @sonia.sabnis.
These young bloggers have a very clear
vision with regard to their blogs, which includes their choice of platform –
some, like Sonia, blog solely using Instagram, while others, like Nyeree,
create Instagram pages as accompaniments to their own blog pages.
Their reasons for choosing Instagram
are well-thought out. For some, it’s in terms of convenience – Saili Palyekar,
fashion blogger with a page called @_thepetitediaries_, says, “Since I go to a
professional design school, I’m usually extremely busy and so I can’t take up
the responsibility of having a full-fledged blog. Instagram helps me to do this
quickly and in an organised manner.”
For others, it’s to do with the
layout. “Instagram is a visual platform, the grid itself allows all the
viewers’ focus to go to the images displayed, and since my work is solely image-based,
it is the best platform to hold a mini portfolio that you can carry with you
wherever you go,” says artist Danica Da Silva Pereira, who puts up her artwork
on her page @yetanotherbydanica. Daniel D’souza, a photographer who also uses
his page @danieldsouzaphoto as an online portfolio, adds, “It helps me showcase
my work to a huge audience. A lot of clients get an overview of my work through
the blog. I also get to connect to senior people in the industry, and view
other contemporaries for inspiration. It is also a great space to connect with
artists from other fields too, especially for collaboration.”
And for some it’s to do with format.
“Everyone’s on Instagram because of its ability to tell stories with merely
photographs. There’s something alluring about being able to tell a story
through the limited space you have. The poetry you find on Instagram is mostly
short, and economises its use of language, which is perfect for the youth that,
as an Instagram blogger, is your audience,” says Komal Bodke, with a poetry
blog called @indecisively.yours.
As audience-reach is of particular
importance, Instagram helps bloggers meet this goal. Several Goan
Insta-bloggers have followers numbering in the thousands! The secret to this,
as each of them is well-aware, is the accessibility of Instagram, which is
possibly their primary reason justifying its use. Frederica Coelho, who reads a
number of Instagram blogs, mentions, “Instagram is part of my day-to-day
routine. There hasn’t been a single day till now that I have not looked at my
feed. Since I’m very active on that platform, I prefer to have some good stuff
on it.” Rochelle Fernandes adds, “The captions are short and crisp. And the
pictures are really attractive. So I automatically tend to get drawn to Instagram
and not to WordPress or any other platform.”
Each of these bloggers has a clear
vision with regard to their ultimate goals. While for some, their Instagram
page is a stepping-stone to other endeavours, such as writing books, as it is
for Declan, for others, like Komal, it will just remain a source of pleasure.
Some, like Nyeree, want to take up blogging full-time, deriving an income from
it, or as part of their overall efforts in their chosen field, like Saili. For
the artists, like Danica and Daniel, their Instagram pages will remain
important as long as Instagram sticks around, as an easily accessible portfolio
for their work.
“The number of people out there trying
to make it into the circle of amazing writers (on Instagram) is unbelievable.
There are so many talented people out there. I see how these writers have
started from the bottom and gained all they have today, and it makes me want to
work just as hard to get there too,” concludes Sonia.
According to the bloggers, Instagram has enough space for
them, and anyone else who wishes to spread their creative wings. It’s clear
then that #Instablogging as a trend is going to stick around for a while.
