Instagram has once again changed its algorithm, this time rewarding accounts that post short “Reels.” (They’re also pretty much destroying small businesses who have built up an audience on the platform.)
Luckily, I don’t run my business off Instagram, but I have been experimenting with Reels as a little creative challenge, mostly to see if you really can convince the algorithm to pay attention to you. (You can.)
How I copy quotes from a library book pic.twitter.com/y9rTBeVOrj
— Austin Kleon (@austinkleon) April 12, 2022
I have 151k+ followers on Instagram, but most of my posts barely crack 500 and max out at about 1000 or 2000 likes. This “How I copy quotes out of library books” post I made about using the iPhone’s “Live Text” feature took me about 5 minutes to make and cracked 6k likes. (This is not, by the way, how I want to plan my days, I was just curious.)
Re: the quote-copying: I got some good replies. One of the most helpful: you can do Live Text straight from the Notes app, just open a note and click a blank space and the icon appears. (Other people told me Android has done this kind of live OCR for years and I should get Readwise.)
The funny thing is that I actually believe strongly in copying quotes by hand or typing out poems. When you go to the actual trouble of copying with your fingers, I think you have to pay more attention to the quote — you really read it…