So here's how I got around that, and how I'm using Instagram today.

I always held off installing Instagram because I felt it was another black hole to post my pictures to and friends and family viewing my pictures used Flickr.

When I visited Portland earlier in 2011, Petra showed me indeed it could automatically post to Flickr - so I was quickly convinced. Instagram is indeed a fun app. But...

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It's still a black hole

When I post using the Instagram, I tick the "twitter" and "flickr" options. The problem I have is the tweet points to Instragram. If you want to comment or favourite the picture: you can't. You need the app.

This is how I'm experimenting with a service called ifttt (stands for If This, Then That - basically: really visual webhooks).

Using ifttt to open Instagram

Here's the process:

  1. I post a picture using Instagram, but I don't tick the "twitter" or "flickr" buttons anymore
  2. ifttt takes newly posted pictures and cross-posts them to Flickr where it uses the title and tags it using "instagram"
  3. Another ifttt recipe looks for Flickr pictures tagged with "instagram" and posts to Twitter for me using the short flickr url.

These are the two simple recipes I use: remy's recipes

Now if someone without the Instagram app (which includes most of my family) can comment or favourte the picture. Those users of Instagram still see the picture and can still comment inside the silo system that the Instagram app provides. Aside from the image duplication (and really I see the Instagram picture as the copy) I'm pretty happy with this new process.