Instagram Purge - Why so Serious?

The biggest news in Social Media last week was probably not a Christmas campaign or which cute little cat falling asleep but "The Great Instagram Purge". Instagram decided to purge and remove "all" the bots and inactive accounts. It is pretty much some house keeping procedure but how did it become a big news?

Apparently I have quite a bit of guys messaging me about this saga asking some questions so I thought why not I just write a simple article for this.

What's with the clean up? 

Why did Instagram do this house keeping? Wouldn't having more users make their annual report look better? I do not have any information from the horse's mouth but I am guessing that by doing this major clearing up it is also a PR angle to tell users and potential client that our reach is now real since we did a big cleaning up. So who knows, a new function or some media buying function might be up for Instagram.

Who are these bots? 

The only bots that matters. Autobots!

Who are these bots? Why do we have bots? Some of these bots account are accounts that were created by bots seller to inflate the numbers of instagram users. If you are unfamiliar, yes, people make money by selling fake followers and yes as well, people do buy them.

But I didn't buy any bots! I SWEAR! 

I am sure not everyone bought bots but yet at the same time why do so many people have bots account? Remember how #you #guys #like #to #fucking #hashtag #everything ? There are also bots out there can crawls #hashtags and go around liking user's photo as well as accounts. Why do they like your account even when you did no pay for them? For 2 reasons.

1. Fake accounts that promotes something. When there's a new user following you and have you no idea who, what is your call to action? Click on it right? So that is pretty much 1 eye ball for the product they are promoting. Most commonly selling of bots or some sex sites.

2. To make themselves look legit and make it hard to trace. If my 100 bots only like my 100 customers it is not difficult to trace back to the origin of the creator and seller. Thus in order to make it looks a little more legit and harder to trace, bots also go around liking real users from different country hoping to get some follow back as well as "real friends"

So yeah, if you are affected as well, that doesn't means you are bought bots.

How come I have new bots following me after the purge? Someone trying to sabotage me and make me look bad? 

Good story line but I don't think anyone are so free and rich and try to sabotage your account. I am not saying it is impossible but I am saying very unlikely unless that person really hates you and really too much cash or really loves Xmas and this season for giving. So why is this happening? Some of these businesses are already up and running and this purging is affecting their business for sure. I am not surprise they are trying to have a come back or some other brands are buying more to cover up their drop and when there are new bots are will be a need for new legit accounts to follow and you are the lucky one.

So and so lost a lot of followers, so she must be fake right? Booo! Their ex-client must be angry now!

Like explained earlier, this purge may or may not be because of them buying bots and there are really too many factors to support your number of lost. Because of your organic reach, because of your handle being easy target or simply because #of #your #bad #habit #of #hashtags.

Which is why I always say, numbers are not everything. There are some true influence in everyone. Be it you really talk about the product and how often you use the product as compared to how you just post a simple picture on Instagram, charge $500 and call it a day. That is how much a picture post can cost you with some "famous" bloggers. So I guess as a marketeer, you see it coming and you only have yourself to blame for not doing research and simply paid anyone simply because of numbers. Nothing beat authentic influence, your neighbour Jane can influence your buying decision over a "famous" blogger. #TrueStory.

How to be really famous on Instagram 

Maybe I do care since I wrote this article.

All those being said above are some of the things that people asked me but to be honest I couldn't care less. It is very saddening to see that the platform and in fact the whole of Social Media has been badly exploited for money and fame.

As a marketeer it is an awesome platform to get influencers online to promote our product as well as getting our product some attention but the side effect of such action are saddening. Seeing people trying very hard to look like a Instagram "celebrity" and till the extend of writing articles on teaching people "how to be famous on Instagram". Maybe because I am not good looking or not the best photographer so Instagram to me is really a platform to share.

I think people are really paying too much attention onto this platform and even till the extend of having print screens and monitoring other's drop and growth of followers. End of the day, it is good to have followers but to inflate those numbers by tips and tricks or even cheat is a little over the top for me. Pointing fingers at everyone else and laugh at their drop?

I do think there are some ways to make your Instagram more engaging, more interesting and more pleasant but till the stage that your objective of having an Instagram is to be "famous", that's as good as saying "I am going to make you the most famous star of this playground."

If I had one wish

I think B.O.B raps it well in "Airplanes'. Although he is talking about music and rap but I can totally relate to blogging and social media.

Yeah, somebody take me back to the days
Before this was a job, before I got paid
Before it ever mattered what I had in my bank
Yeah, back when I was tryin' to get a tip at subway

And back when I was rappin' for the hell of it
But nowadays we rappin' to stay relevant
I'm guessin' that if we can make some wishes out of airplanes
Then maybe, oh, maybe I'll go back to the days

Before the politics that we call the rap game
And back when ain't nobody listened to my mix tape
And back before I tried to cover up my slang
But this is for the hater, what's up,Bobby Ray

So can I get a wish to end the politics?
And get back to the music that started this shit
So here I stand, and then again I say
I'm hopin' we can make some wishes out of airplanes

Let it go

I guess it is really not easy for some to be not affect especially someone like me. Back in the days we had to really look through each and every influencers to make sure they are legit before engaging them. With that habit it becomes really hard to be not affect both professionally and emotionally. There will be days when you go "Who the Fuck is this dude? His pictures are so trashy and he got 27k followers? Each pictures got like 3k likes? NO WAY! Confirm buy likes lor!" At the end of the day the only person who got affected by all these ain't the other person over at the screen but it will be you. The person that keeps 2nd guessing people and being all paranoid and jealous simply because you do not have better numbers than that person. 

Just do what makes you happy, do you own things and be good. It was a hobby and just keep it a hobby. There are too many things to fight for in life and this might not be one of those that you should waste your life on.  

LET IT GO!

And if you had never heard airplanes before:



Mr.Smith, you will always be famous to your dad and mum, if you need some comfort, go home.