The New Era of Storytelling

Instagram, one of the world’s largest social media apps available for smart phones, has been the talk around the watercooler at CNN. With it being one year since Hurricane Sandy hit, leaving millions of people’s lives in shambles, CNN decided to do something to focus on the recovery effort.

During the Superstorm, people were using Instagram to document what was going on where they were. The app was used to show real time scenes of the destruction. According to Instagram, the uploads of Sandy were so high, that at one point, 10 pictures of the storm were being uploaded per second.

In light of the horrible disaster, CNN has created a video and photo series that is right on Instagram. This is the first time the news outlet has ever done anything like this. They sent Tim Lampe to New York, along with an iPhone. There, Lampe was able to capture hope. The series shows rebuilding, recovery, and the strength of those men and women who lost it all, but are still hanging on.

To me, I find it very interesting that this up and coming medium is now being used to get the story out. It is a very easy way for people with smart phones to become more informed on what’s going on in a more visual way.

Is this the new era of storytelling? Do you think that you will be using the app for more than just posting pictures of your dogs, food, or friends? I know I will now be trying to use Instagram to it’s full potential.

For more information on this, or to see some of the photos, check out the link below!

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/30/tech/sandy-anniversary-instagram-storytelling/index.html?hpt=te_r1