My two cents on Instagram's big update

Disclaimer: I am no pro with algorithms, coding, social media, and any other similar field. This post simply states my opinion and I am speaking from observation and experience as a social media user since grade school :P As of now, I still can't decide whether I like the upcoming update or not. Yes, I do think that it's true. It's not a rumor, and I think Instagram's owner, a.k.a. the owners of Facebook, are decided on pushing through with it. However, like all major changes in any platform, it won't happen one time big time. They will roll it out slowly, testing bugs as they go through and with the sudden panic of Instagrammers big and small all over the world, I think Instagram has taken a step back and is currently testing out the waters.

So here's two sides of my story, what I like, and what I dislike about this big 'ole update.

What I like:

I'll be able to see more of my favorites, if they post at a time I wasn't scrolling through the timeline, I'll still be able to see their posts upfront when I open the app since Instagram's new algorithm will recognize that I am fond of checking this person's/brand's account or that I always have regular engagements with them. That's cool right? Instagram but smarter! However, that isn't really the reason why this app has been wildly popular in this era.

What I dislike:

Long story short: it's redundant. This smart algorithm is perfect for Facebook since the platform uses the friendship system. When a person requests to be a friend, you both get updates from each other (although there's an update where you can 'unfollow' a friend and you won't see their posts in your timeline. Like I said these updates and features are really redundant). What if you want to be virtually friends with this person but don't really want to see all their annoying posts flooding your timeline? Like in real life, friendship is two way, mutual, and so the selective algorithm is just the solution for this, where Facebook displays updates from people you regularly interact with. However with Instagram, it's a whole different story. Instagram doesn't have the friend request thing. It a follower-following thing. When a person follows you, you don't necessarily have to follow them back if you don't like to see updates from them or you don't like their content. The proposed algorithm is a perfect fit for Facebook, but it's redundancy at its finest when you apply it on Instagram. Of course you'd like to see updates from @username real time, that's why you followed them in the first place. If I change my mind and refuse to see updates from them, I can always unfollow them.

Also, I think each social media platform has its own specialty and it sucks that these developers are making them very similar with each other.

Now, like I said, I'm still not decided if I like it. It has good points and bad. A tailored feed has its charm and it's nice to see your favorites upfront, but an unbiased, real time feed where you get to discover more about all the people you follow effortlessly just by scrolling through your feed also has its own thing. Either way, I love Instagram and I definitely won't let an update stop me from sharing content to my readers :)

What about you? What do you think about this big Instagram update and all the madness that's coming with it?

Pros and Cons of a "Happy Thursday" Schedule

Pros

• You have three straight days off from school every week. That means you can do whatever the heck you want without worrying about having no time to do your home works. It’s like a mini vacation every week.
• When it’s Thursday you feel like a zombie gone back to life. Really.
• You’ll only suffer pure torture for four days, after that you’re free!

Cons

• Thinking that you have three days to do everything, you end up procrastinating the whole three days and mega cram everything every sunday night.
• Three nights are enough to alter your body clock. You stay up late and wake up late on those three nights, come monday and boom! You’re a zombie again.
• You have four straight days of back to back to back to back torture. No breaks.
• That’s just me though. I lack time management. Hihi.

Types

“Gusto ko ng chinita.”“Gusto ko tall, dark and handsome.” “Gusto ko yung messy long hair, ayoko ng semi kalbo.” “Gusto ko yung ganito pumorma.”

We all have types. Physical preferences on what our ideal boy or girl would look like. Sometimes, these preferences get too specific or even too ridiculous and impossible. If there’s one thing I learned about love (or feelings a little bit less than love), it’s that sometimes, looks don’t always matter. Sure, good looks give you that kilig feeling, that roll-on your-bed-im-about-to-burst-cause-he’s/she’s-so-cute feeling but at the end of the day, at the end of two months or so, good looks won’t be the reason why you’ve been crushing, loving, or holding on to that person for so long. You stayed for that long because of another thing — Personality. So before you rant about all the physical things you want in a guy or girl, don’t be so sure of yourself ‘cause I’m pretty certain that someone’s going to come up to you, he or she won’t qualify for all the physical attributes on your preferences list, but in the end, you’ll want him or her all the same. Besides… sometimes, we don’t really know what we want until we’ve seen it, do we?