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?
Scavenger Hunt
It is hard to have hope. Then I went for a walk in the woods. There were children with their parents on the trail. They bopped along from left to right, searching for something among the trees, the fallen leaves.
On my way back to the trailhead I found what they were seeking — little painted rocks hidden in crevices along the path. A scavenger hunt put on by Mother Nature, or somebody’s mother.
Surely this game a creation from a mother — thoughtfulness with brightly painted scenes of water, land, and sky in order to stand out. Distraction from the noise of our broken world, the one we built while sleeping. Guidance to what is important to learn as a child living through a pandemic.
I’m fearful of what we’re leaving for our children. We fret over their screen time, data usage, how technology will negatively impact their malleable, growing brains. Yet we allow ourselves, their parents, a hard pass on the matter. Scrolling while they play in our peripherals, sending emails while they nourish their bellies from our milk. The answers for our children are not on the screen. The ones we as parents are addicted to, not our children.
Our children are waiting for us to wake up. To teach them, play with them, help them find the brightly-colored rocks on the wooded trail. They know what matters. It is our responsibility to show them.
thank you to the Mother who led me to this so I can remember.
Screen time
My thumb hovers over the screen.
End of the day. transition to the next season. Hard news about a friend.
I try to tap a square that will make me feel good again. Less tired, more inspired. I deleted them all. For moments like this when I am weary. When I am more than fried looking to fry some more.
Thank you past me for thinking of the future me. You’ve never needed what can only fit into a box.
The perils of Instagram
Dax Shepherd made a statement that stuck with me on the latest episode of Armchair Expert. He said when we try to mimic other people’s formula in order to be liked, it’s a quick way to failure. You won’t strike a chord with anyone because you’re not being you.
It was related to his acting journey but it resonated with me with my writing. Somehow writing on this blog morphed into thinking I had to be an influencer on social media. It became about trying to do what I thought other people liked of me. My value was dependent upon a heart emoji.
I started blogging before Instagram took off. There weren’t widgets yet to connect your Instagram feed to your blog. I didn’t think it’d get to me or make me question myself as it has.
But it got to my head. Especially when my audience was growing & my value was being validated by responses to an image. It was more difficult to stay true to what I enjoyed writing about because how & what I like to write about isn’t very interesting.
So what Dax said really struck a chord because I think a lot of people go through this, many times in a life. You’re noticed because you’re different, then liked because you’re the same, & it’s easy to get caught in between this battle of self. Especially if you’re someone who doesn’t like to disappoint people.
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 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.