• BURN MEDIA
    • Motorburn
      Because cars are gadgets
    • Gearburn
      Incisive reviews for the gadget obsessed
    • Ventureburn
      Startup news for emerging markets
    • Jobsburn
      Digital industry jobs for the anti 9 to 5!

Instagram

  • 10 Instagram snaps of people living life at Splashy Fen 2017

    By on 18 April, 2017

    So how did you spend your long Easter weekend, South Africa? If you were at Splashy Fen, you probably had quite the time... at least judging by my Instagram feed. #Splashy was the hashtag of choice for the festival this year, racking up over 20 000 images according to the social networking site. Not all of these were snapped by people enjoying themselves in the green, green Underberg though, but a vast majority were. Splashy Fen first took place in South Africa back in 1990, a full four years before OppiKoppi made its mark The oldest annual music festival in the country...

  • The most Instagram-famous world leader isn’t who you think

    By on 12 April, 2017

    When considering world leaders on social media, it's usually Twitter or Facebook that first comes to mind. US President Donald Trump has made waves with his sweeping tweets about foreign policy, and New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English caused an uproar when he put spaghetti and pineapple on his pizza. But over the past five years, world leaders have increasingly decided that Instagram is as worthy a contender for politics as any other platform. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. A recent study by Burson-Marsteller looked at the way politicians around the world communicate via the photo- and video-sharing platform, and the results aren't as predictable...

  • Instagram for Windows 10 just got a small, but welcome feature buff

    By on 6 April, 2017

    Oh, Instagram users. You still can't upload images directly from your PC to the social network, but at least you can now send images to others as direct messages. Yay! The universal Windows 10 app allows anyone with an Instagram account to log into the social network and engage with it on PC. And although you can't quite upload snaps just yet, you can treat the social network like a messenger. According to Windows Central, the Windows 10 app now lets users add images from their hard drive to a direct message. Whether you actually use Instagram to send direct messages, let alone...

  • 9 depressingly beautiful pictures of Cape Town’s biggest dam

    By on 4 April, 2017

    It's getting desperate, Cape Town. The City of Cape Town announced the latest dam levels, and it's not positive. As it stands, the Western Cape dam storage system has just over 25% capacity left. The largest dam in the system, the Theewaterskloof, is just 21% full. Calling this situation a "glass half empty" is being generous. We've seen a number of videos from vloggers and drone pilots in the past few weeks documenting the drought from the air, but sometimes, a still image from the ground is so much more shocking than a moving picture. With that in mind, we took to Instagram...

  • Fake followers are a massive problem, as SA duo proves

    By on 31 March, 2017

    It's almost become an unspoken fact over the years that social media has a major problem with fake followers. Now, two writers have brought the problem into the open by running a dummy Instagram account and buying fake followers in the process. Lipgloss is My Life editor Leigh van den Berg and Candice-Lee Kannemeyer, the editor of In My Bag, created the Instagram account to find out how easy it was to buy followers in the first place. So @CandiceLeeKan and I have just done an experiment. We set up a crappy instagram account in a bid to see how easy...

  • When you date a girl from Instagram: an Imgur feel good story

    By on 28 March, 2017

    It's very rare in Donald Trump's day and age that you can flick on a social media network and see a genuinely comforting, heart-warming and encouraging story. But thankfully, this Imgur user provided us with just that this week. "So I met a girl on Instagram!" is the post in question, published to the image sharing site by user Habitualcritic. It has all the ingredients of a misleading and anger-inducing post, however, it's anything but. It's effectively a love story, told through the lens of the social network. "She was a 20 year old youth pastor and was really cute. I...

  • Two-factor authentication is now live on Instagram

    By on 23 March, 2017

    Keeping pace with its contemporaries, Instagram now supports two-factor authentication. The system "adds an extra layer of security to your Instagram account by requiring a code every time you log in", announced company CEO Kevin Systrom in a blog post. "Tap the gear icon on your profile and choose Two-Factor Authentication to turn it on." This effectively means that those looking to infiltrate your account (and post pictures of dirty dishes, or unkempt gardens) can't simply use your password. Two-factor authentication, in essence, makes it damn difficult to crack users' accounts. The system has been adopted by a number of other services, including...

  • 15+ everyday South Africans doing beautiful things on Instagram [Digital All Stars]

    By on 10 March, 2017

    Digital All Stars is a series of articles which aims to celebrate the best of South African digital. The articles, which will appear on Memeburn and Ventureburn, recognise and celebrate South Africa’s best digital entrepreneurs, business people, advertisers, and media professionals among others. Forget the influencers for a moment, or accounts with millions of followers. Think about the first few months Instagram hit South Africa. The platform was laced with pretty images of landscapes, buildings, people and cats, taken by those either just starting their careers in photography or trying out a new platform. While corporate use has largely become a...

  • Instagram Stories debuts ‘Geostickers’ for NYC and Jakarta

    By on 8 March, 2017

    Instagram Stories just became slightly more convenient for jet-setters and travel bloggers. Instagram has this week announced the introduction of Geostickers, which is awfully similar to Snapchat's Geofilters. These contextual, geographically-relevant stickers are only available for New York City and Jakarta at present, but this is likely a simple trial for more cities to come. But how does it work? Well, similarly to the service's traditional stickers with a few added perks. "When you take a photo or video and tap the sticker icon, you’ll see geostickers at the top," Instagram explains. "No matter where you are in New York City or Jakarta,...

  • 6 Instagram users who have risked their lives for likes

    By on 28 February, 2017

    Now that Vine is dead, people are back to "doing it for the Insta." Because the validation of social acceptance isn't a big enough rush for some people, here's a list of Instagram users who need near death experiences and peer recognition to feel alive. Vadim Makhorov Вчерашняя попытка поснимать закат с высоты обернулась массовым походом на крышу. Наверх взобралось больше десятка канадских руферов и в итоге всех разогнала охрана. Как в старые добрые времена. На фото @mustangwanted и @varlamov / yesterday sunset with canadian and russian rooftoppers #ontheroofs #torontorooftops A post shared by Vadim Makhorov (@makhorov) on Sep 11, 2016 at 6:13am PDT You...

  • Instagram update adds user gallery uploads

    By on 23 February, 2017

    Instagram users can now upload multiple images within a single gallery, the company announced Wednesday. "With this update, you no longer have to choose the single best photo or video from an experience you want to remember," Instagram wrote on its blog. Rather inconspicuous but massively practical, the new gallery update will let users upload up to ten images to a single post. Users can also arrange the order of the snaps, edit them individually or apply filters to them. Instagram's ten-image gallery update will please both commercial and casual Instagrammers Followers can then scroll horizontally between the various snaps. The number of...

  • Tropical Cyclone Dineo in pictures: devastation captured on Twitter, Instagram

    By on 16 February, 2017

    UPDATE: 17 Feb, 1.17pm: The Middle Letaba Dam in Limpopo is reportedly 102% full. Community members have been alerted. #Dineo Water and sanitation department says the Middle Letaba Dam in Limpopo is 102% full. An alert has been sent for possible flooding. — EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) February 17, 2017 UPDATE: 17 Feb, 9.08am: The Mozambique government have confirmed that seven people have died. The storm is currently moving through Limpopo. #dineo is officially in Polokwane right now pic.twitter.com/wKfH0okaoB — Senku Matsepane (@SenkuMatsepane) February 17, 2017 The clouds this morning in Muyexe, Giyani #Dineopic.twitter.com/ylf6WGEEaT — African Child (@ZikhonaTshona) February 17, 2017 UPDATE: 16 Feb, 1.30pm: At least four people, including a child,...

  • Justin Bieber returns to Instagram to sell T-Mobile deals

    By on 6 February, 2017

    Well, Instagram has been busy this week. After the network played host to Beyonce's record-breaking pregnancy reveal, it also welcomed the return of Justin Bieber. Bieber, who ditched the social network in August 2016 after a spat with his fans, returned to Instagram with a video. But it wasn't a snap of him holding an American flag, or a short clip of a new video, or even just Bieber being Bieber. Nope. It was actually an advertisement. Justin Bieber said goodbye to his Instagram fans last year, but has returned as a salesman Dressed in a suit and donning some black-rimmed glasses, the...

  • Beyonce’s preggy picture is now Instagram’s most-liked snap ever

    By on 2 February, 2017

    We've only recently said goodbye to the first month of 2017, and already Instagram has a new record-breaking image. The post in question comes from none other than Queen B herself, Beyonce. The performing artist took to Instagram late last night South African time to announce that she's expecting twins. Yes, TWINS! "We would like to share our love and happiness. We have been blessed two times over," she posted on Instagram, signed The Carters. "We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes." Beyonce trails Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift and Ariana...

  • Instagram piles on the FOMO with gorgeous Newlands cricket snaps

    By on 26 January, 2017

    Whether you like cricket or love it, few can deny that Cape Town's Newlands cricket stadium is pretty unique. Guarded by Table Mountain and lashed by the wind, the stadium is a visual feast for tourists and cricket connoisseurs a like. That is, even if South Africa does lose. Last night, our national team took to the field against Sri Lanka in a T20 international match. While the visitors won the match and took series honours, there's no denying that the real winners were the folks who were out snapping and supporting. And with that said, we take a look at what...