Top Nine 2020
Top Nine 2020
Formerly known as Best Nine, the Top Nine of Instagram results are in. The top 9 posts on Instagram, based on likes, are selected for the year. I haven’t seen anyone post these this year so I’m guessing it’s not cool anymore. I still enjoy seeing my grid at the end of each year though so here we are.
2020
2.2k likes in 44 posts
50 likes/post
The amount I posted this year decreased by 50% & with that likes/post decreased. My Instagram account was completely private in 2020. I didn’t use it as a portfolio or blog aggregator like in past years. The numbers fairly reflect that. I’m more private about my daily life as of late. I thought less app time meant less influence but I’m sad to admit that wasn’t the case. Instagram is a consumerist machine now, by design (eww.), & I no longer wouldn’t or couldn’t keep up with the rat race. Working in marketing for a retail brand made it hard to leave entirely. It’s a key indicator of our online audience which affects my role on the team. I engaged with it less this year personally though due to pregnancy, new mamahood, & the pandemic. It was a relief to think for myself again; my self-worth was attached to Instagram success a lot in 2017-2018. Since then I’ve worked hard to intentionally & routinely set stronger boundaries with it. Creeps up on ya if you’re not careful!
About 40% of top photos were pregnancy photos, 30% about discovering my family values in real-time, with another 30% of photos related to having a career during early motherhood. That’s 100% of photos related to a woman’s journey to motherhood. Very accurate because motherhood is all-consuming. It affects everything from the woman as an individual to her marriage, her relationship with her family, how she wants her immediate family to grow in partnership with her partner, & her career.
Most of the posts I wrote during my maternity leave this summer were deleted but if they hadn’t been, they were some of my top posts. It suddenly felt too personal to have my daughter’s face with my tender thoughts meant for her only, displayed for everyone to peer into. I was getting to know her for the first time after 10 months of anticipation. The blue light glaring in her nursery felt exploitative so I put our photos with my words elsewhere for safekeeping. Not before Mamas sent notes of love, encouragement, & optimism that only one Mother can give to another though. I leaned HEAVY on the Mama IG community of mine in the final weeks of pregnancy & the first months of Mamahood. I have no regrets. If it wasn’t a pandemic, I probably wouldn’t have but my Mama friends are the one thing about Instagram I’m truly grateful for this year.
“Together” | Artwork by Quentin Monge
My 2020 IG goal was to follow accounts with unpopular opinions, strong messages, & inspiration. Girl did I. If 2019 was about minimizing who I followed to under 100 accounts, 2020 was about maximizing my followship double-fold. I followed more people who don’t look like me, AKA basic white bitches. I renewed my childhood love for the WNBA, am here for intersectional environmentalism, oogling over Pattiegonia, & getting my white privilege checked by Dr. Kiona. Following doesn’t do much by way of tangible change but reading people’s stories changes the landscape of our minds and from there new worlds are created. I’m hopeful for what’s on the horizon by way of empathy, compassion, & sensitivity. This is really for no one but me, just happy to recognize a personal goal realized.
2021
I honestly wonder if I’ll even have an Instagram in 2021. I’ve been holding onto it because I put so much work into it in the past that I thought deleting it completely would feel like a waste of all my time. But now, Instagram is just in the way of my actual life. An added obligation on my already endless list I can’t keep up with. The ROI on friendship, connection, & self-worth sucks.
The real world just wins every. single. time.
Even the shitty, ordinary parts of the real world win over the glossy parts of Instagram. I’m fatigued seeing curated lives online & then talking with people in real life where what they’re saying doesn’t line up with what they’re posting. It doesn’t bother me that they post the highlight reel, I do the same. I just prefer the conversations I have with them in real-time. If the lack of time with people this year has shown me anything, it’s that the time we do have with another is the most valuable – in the most essential way, time is the only most valuable thing we have with people. And I’m tired of throwing that all away for appearance’s sake.
Maybe I won’t delete IG but I’ll have an account that has to do with something other than myself. Ha, what a concept!
2019
5.2k likes in 90 posts
55 likes/post
2018
15.5 likes in 177 posts
88 likes/post
2017
9.2k likes in 113 posts
81 likes/post
2016
3.1k likes in 95 posts
33 likes/post
Enter your Instagram handle [here] to see your Top 9. What are you most proud of this year?
Best Nine 2019
Best Nine 2019
It's that time of year again for the Best 9 of Instagram. Best 9 generates the top 9 posts of your Instagram, based on likes, for the year. I enjoy seeing my grid at the end of each year. The results are a fun addition to the bigger story. Everyone approaches Instagram differently. I’ve changed my approach & mindset to the app a lot over the years. So, let’s dig in!
2019
5.2k likes in 90 posts
55 likes/post
I’ve increased likes/post each year since 2016. This year is an exception — my likes decreased by 30 per post. I’m proud of this. It means my time on Instagram was reduced. I disabled my account the first quarter of the year, was a private account for 6 months and removed 75% of accounts that didn’t bring me joy. A private account allowed me to decline friend requests from people I don’t know, avoid spam accounts, & remove accounts who follow to lurk and judge. I also didn’t give my students access to my personal account. Digital boundaries are important. It’s healthy, safe, and takes up less mind space.
Original photo via Schoolhouse
This year my top photos were warmer & brighter thanks to Liz Galvan’s LMB presets. Over 50% of the photos were personal moments — our dream of owning an A-frame someday, my love for Michigan and colored glass, our favorite wedding of the year (rosé very much included!), and Joel teasing me about my mirror pics. I’m pretty sure his single mirror pic was more popular than all of mine combined!
Kherington & I chatting at Lyon Street Café. Photo by Leigh Ann Cobb
The rest of the photos were career moments — my studio refresh, a celebration of 6 years as a freelance designer, and two dedicated to the annual women’s day event I co-host.
My main 2019 goal was more personal life, less career chasing. It’s fun to see my grid reflect my goals. Especially in the sense that everything was reduced. Less followers, less likes, and less screen time. More LIFE.
Maybe 2020 will bring me even less, so I can be present even more.
2020
In last year’s post I said, “…I recognize it's time for a mindset shift. I am BURNT. OUT.” I shifted my mindset in 2019 and I’m so happy with the results. If you’re an artist, small business, or anything visual to profit from your creativity, Instagram sucks you in big time. I stepped away and lost nothing I needed in terms of financial security or friendships. If anything, I received more in genuine friendship, career clarity, & a stronger sense of self.
In 2020 I hope to have more of the same. Instagram is so different now with paid partnerships, brand exposure, and retail sales. There’s great value in this but everything in moderation. What we see is how we translate our world. In the coming year I plan to follow accounts with unpopular opinions, strong messages, & inspiration. I’m not so concerned with my IG community. The people I spend real-life time with in all our messy humanness is my community. They are who make up my life. Who are there when life is joyful, tough, & ordinary. They remain my focus. I hope the same for you.
2018
15.5 likes in 177 posts
—
88 likes/post
2017
9.2k likes in 113 posts
—
81 likes/post
2016
3.1k likes in 95 posts
—
33 likes/post
Enter your Instagram handle [here] to see your Best 9. It will generate your results within seconds. Pretty cool! What are you most proud of this year?
Best Nine 2018
Best Nine 2018
It's that time of year again for the Best 9 of Instagram. Best 9 generates the top 9 posts of your Instagram, based on likes, for the year.
2018
15.5k likes in 177 posts
88 likes/post
Over 50% of my top nine grid are 10x10 wardrobe challenge posts! My 10x10 articles on the blog are the most viewed too. I dedicated a lot of time to this challenge each season so it's validating to see the fruits of my labor paid off. I also had a goal during the last few years to discover my personal style and am more confident in it than I've ever been. Mission accomplished! See [Winter, Spring, Summer, & Fall 10x10 challenges].
Only 40% of photos were taken by professional photographers this year (Leigh Ann Photo, HZ Photo, and The Lipstick Lens check them out!). The rest are snapshots I took with my phone then edited in the Lightroom app with one preset package from Etsy. This looks much less filtered and way more natural than my 2016 Best Nine did. My eye to detail is improving and I'm doing a little happy dance over how convenient Adobe has made it with Lightroom Mobile. The app automatically syncs with the desktop version of Lightroom too. It's a BIG win in my book any time technology makes it so I can spend less time on the screen without sacrificing quality. :)
Finally, my marriage, home, and community are represented with Joel and me as wedding guests this fall, our favorite corner in the living room with the credenza we made, and International Women's Day with some kickass ladies in the creative community. Such a wonderful year outside of this grid but I also love to see it as I reflect on 2018.
2017
9.2k likes in 113 posts
81 likes/post
I remember in 2017 getting my footing more as a designer and thinking about how I wanted to share that message on Instagram. I went from being an in-house designer for a very masculine brand to freelance full-time with a lot of clients who came to me for the feminine style I was sharing online. It was challenging to use the same account for many seemingly unrelated topics; a graphic design portfolio, a capsule wardrobe, and my pretty personal writing style. I think it worked out and you didn't really notice I was trying to navigate this challenge, right?! Haha.
2019
As we head into 2019 I've been thinking a lot about my online presence and how it is separate from the actual woman I am. Somewhere in the last 5 years, I couldn't really tell the two apart. I've always been all in with whatever I pursue. Probably why I struggled to see this blog, my design work, and my Instagram is just the tiniest piece of me. I've been building this...thing for so long. I haven't looked at it from that 30,000 feet above ground kind of view. On one hand, I'm so grateful for that! My focus has been hawk-like, going after the kill. Knocking out my goals left and right and being really proud of what I've created. But on the other hand, I recognize it's time for a mindset shift. I am BURNT. OUT. Spending the last couple weeks of 2018 off Instagram and reflecting, recharging, and feeling renewed from a year well spent.I'm hoping the same for you. :)
And if you want to see your Best 9, just enter your Instagram handle [here]. It will generate your results within seconds. Pretty cool! What accomplishment are you most proud of this year? Share it with me below.
Best Nine 2017
Best Nine 2017
Have you heard of the Best 9 on Instagram? You may have seen people posting a grid of 9 photos with #2017bestnine. It's a generator that shows you a summary of the top 9 posts your followers liked the most this year.
2016
3.1k likes in 95 posts
33 likes/post
These numbers are neither good nor bad to me but a way to compare with 2017. What this shows me is I was kind of all over the place in 2016 – from outfit posts, trying my hand at interiors and flat lay styling, a hint of hand lettering work, and bits of chatting about creativity. I experimented a lot and challenged myself to try new things. I was also getting married, working 50+ hrs./wk, and moving to a different city. Shit, I WAS all over the place!
2017
9.2k likes in 113 posts
81 likes/post
I was more visually consistent in 2017 and think that has something to do with growing a bit but the point I really want to make is this: I didn't suddenly change what I believe in to increase my following. Only one thing changed: I started believing in myself and the message I have to share. Gaining confidence also allowed me to be honest with myself. I don't enjoy being a photographer but rather LOVE working with photographers (like Leigh Ann). This gave me more time to write, which I really love, as I'm sure you can tell by my super long posts.
Anyway, I guess I'm telling you this in case you're being hard on yourself about not being where you thought you'd be at this point in your life. Or if you're feeling pressure to grow in a direction that is cool but isn't speaking to you. You have to have years where you're all over the place, years where you're confident in who you are, and years when, who knows how you'll feel or who you'll be but it'll be beautiful for completely new and different reasons.
Let's celebrate how far we've come before we dig into the work ahead, shall we?! What accomplishment are you most proud of this year? Share it with me below.