If you’ve recently updated your apps, you probably noticed that Instagr.am has a totally new look and new features. This update was released on Friday, August 17. It seems that Instagram 3.0 has gotten a bit of a Facebook makeover, particularly with the “Photo Map” feature. I’ll briefly mention/talk about the bigger changes in Instagram 3.0.
Photo Map: This is the most Facebook-ized that Instagram has gotten and I suspect it is just the beginning. While it’s definitely cool to see the exact geographic location that you took or posted a picture from, I really don’t see the point of this addition. Other than my first day exploring the feature, I haven’t really once looked or cared to look at where someone else has taken their picture from. It’s also really f*cking creepy when you really think about it. I liked that you could choose to show where you were before, but I really don’t need to see exact GPS coordinates. That makes me feel like a stalker and I bet within a year you’ll be hearing news stories about people who were stalked because of this feature. There’s a difference between tagging that you’re at Walt Disney World and Instagram revealing exactly where you stood while taking the picture at Walt Disney World. I just don’t see the appeal of Photo Map beyond the initial “Oh, this is kinda cool that it can pinpoint locations so accurately.”
That’s really my only complaint with the new Instagram and it really is more of a gripe. I can always go through all 800 of my pictures and remove anything that makes me uncomfortable on the Photo Map (and will when I have time.) Here’s some screen caps of my Photo Map. Click to enlarge if you’re so inclined. I won’t think you’re a stalker 😉
New Layout: I’m totally fine with the new layout, but when I first was getting used 
to it, it reminded me of the Instagram version of a Large Print Book. Now, I like that the pictures are bigger thumbnails. It means I can almost see them without my glasses on while holding them 1 inch from my face. Before, there wasn’t even an “almost” involved, haha. I also like the larger text book for writing your captions.
Infinite Scrolling: (aka automatic “load more”.) This is my favorite new feature!!! I hated how long it took to load pictures when you tried to go back and look through your Instagram archives. I do this every month for my Photo-a-day recap blogs and it was always a bit annoying having to wait for them to slowly reload. Love this feature. It’s awesome.
Comments: It took me a good 5 minutes to figure out how to delete a comment, but it’s also much easier with the new option of just swiping the comment to the 
right to get your options of deleting or reporting spam. Now, I’m totally down with it.
That’s pretty much all I have on the new Instagram. Part of me wishes they had included new filters, but I still love all the Camera+ filters and I’ve just downloaded a new filter program that I’ve been digging. Maybe one of these days, I’ll do a “My Favorite Photo Filters” blog. What do you guys think about Instagram 3.0? Leave your response in the comments (please not in response on Twitter) so we can maybe get a good discussion going. Thanks!
