Instagram, Motorcycles and the Pondering of a Grouch

Apparently, these were my “best nine” photos on Instagram in 2017. And by best, the gang at 2017bestnine.com simply mean the ones with the most likes. I don’t think these are the best photos I’ve taken all year – not that I’ve ever prided myself on being a great picture-taker. But I get lucky once in a while.

The more I use it the less I understand social media. I mean, I get the technological premise and even the naive goal. I suppose what I’m really saying is that I don’t understand people and their motivations.

Strategically placed products, brand ambassadors, curation-machines… I need to get off this ride. I don’t care about any of it.

And since Instagram decided that it knows best what I want to see algorithmically – I see the same people, and even the same photos reshared all the time. I’m not necessarily seeing pictures from people I actually care about. I don’t see photos from everyone I follow. This is not what I want.

Get off my lawn.

Perhaps I’ll always favor blogs. Passive as they are, whether I get to see them or not is directly controlled by me. I dunno, maybe I’m holding on to the past too tightly.

Why don’t you tell me (and whoever else is reading this) about your “I’m not going to try to sell you anything, I just share my life” blog in a comment below? Or maybe share your “I’m not a brand ambassador” Instagram account?

Fuzzygalore

Rachael is the whimsical writer behind the 20+ year old Girlie Motorcycle Blog. As a freelance blogger, she is on a mission to inspire laughter, self-examination, curiosity, and human connection. Girlie Motorcycle Blog can be found on several Best Motorcycle Blog lists.

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11 Responses

  1. Sandy says:

    First I want to say is that I always enjoy all your pics, and your thoughtful insights. This is not based on any algorithm, just me actively seeking out your blog posts and following you with social media 🙂

    I have an instagram account, although I admit I have not really actively used it yet. But when I do it will have NOTHING to do with being a “brand ambassador”. Just would like to make it about my love of riding my motorcycle and sharing the places I visit.
    Hey, I just realized that I haven’t followed you on it! That I immediately remedied!

  2. Highwaylass says:

    I miss the old days when we bloggers commented a lot on each others’ posts and felt like a real community. It’s too easy to click ‘like’ on a pic instead of reading someone’s words and coming back with an actual sentence.

    I don’t Insta. I like Twitter but not so much since they moved away from showing replies chronologically. I’m over FB. Let’s celebrate the blog and do more to bring back our sense of community.
    /oldgimmerrant

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      Yeah, i know what you mean.

      But admittedly, I am THE WORST at commenting on blogs. Even ones i read everyday and adore. Most often I feel like i dont have anything useful to add to their story. And saying, “great post” seems dumb and trite, so for socially awkward dopes like me, a star or a heart feels good. I get to communicate to the person that i appreciate what they’ve put out in the world without writing a comment that feels unnatural.

  3. Tracy Farr says:

    I came home the other day from work and my wife said, “Have you seen Fuzzy’s new post?” I asked what she was talking about and she said, “You know. Fuzzygalore!”

    I got her hooked on you.

    You can find me at http://www.thefarrplace.com or /thetexashoss on instagram. No selling, no brand placements, no affiliations with mega “we have everything you could possibly ever need to make you happy” online super stores — just me and whatever I’m into at the moment.

  4. Shybiker says:

    For years I’ve bemoaned how commerce ruins blogging but to no avail. The impulse to make money is strong, not only among advertisers but bloggers as well. Back in the day, we considered “selling out” to be a bad thing, not an admirable one.

  5. Glen says:

    Get off my lawn

    I used to like seeing what people are up to on places like Facebook but now there is so much rubbish on it. I like reading blogs of real people doing real things and having real experiences. For me my blog (www.zed14.wordpress.com) is my travelogue of my travels (primarily motorcycle focused) and a place I can combine the pictures and the story that went with it.

    I always enjoy reading your posts. Thanks

  6. Russ says:

    Regarding social media, I think the algorithmically-sorted feed is the first step in a financial racket. First they claim that it’s based on what they think you’ll like, but then they tell content providers that if they want to be seen more they have to cough up some money. The viewer has no idea the content creator is creating content and they’re just missing it and the creator gets the screws put to them.

    It’s just one more reason to enjoy blogs.

    Another reason is that blogs require a little more thought and a whole lot more eloquence. You can’t just post a video of you riding the same tired routes through a town on your way to mail out the latest batch of merchandise for your vlog (“LINK IN THE DESCRIPTION BELOW!”) and yell comments over your exhaust that you think are funny. There’s a lot more pressure to make something worthwhile. Or at least as worthwhile as you can make it.

    That’s the biggest reason I like blogs. There are stories to them and the content is significantly better.

  7. Kathy says:

    I won’t try to sell you anything. I may even write again one day. Hugs!

  8. Thanks for this amazing blog post.

    thoughtful insight.

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