If the name Instagram * says nothing to you, it's time to get out of your cave! Do not panic, this article is for you! With its 30 million users, the application Instagram has gradually invaded the social networks the most sides of the net. Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr ... impossible that your eyes never landed on a photo polaroïd type with the characteristic vintage look of Instagram.

Instagram: how does it work?

Instagram is a social network present on smartphone whose main goal is to share its photographs. Each user has a kind of wall, an Instagram personal page, where all his photos taken or modified via the application are displayed. Other Instagram users can then leave comments or report that they like the photograph. As with Facebook, it is possible to make its page accessible to all users of the application or only to its list of friends, called subscribers.

One of the main advantages of this application is the ability to retouch photos taken by the phone. For this, nothing is simpler, the system is always the same and is organized in three stages.

First step: Instagram first proposes to take a picture with the device of the smartphone or to download an existing photo. It is necessary to crop the picture in square to give a polaroid look.

Step two: Choose the filter. 1977, Nashville, Valencia ... Nearly 20 filters are proposed by the mobile application and allow to give a vintage look or downright retro to his picture. It is also possible to play on the contrast and add or remove a frame around the image.

Step three: Share the photo. In addition to displaying on your Instagram page, the app offers you to share the photo via Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare or Tumblr . A good way to show it to all your contacts!

Instagram: why this application so much?

Everyone uses Instagram as he sees fit. While for some, this mobile application is the dreamed tool to retouch their photos without sharing them, others on the other hand, diffuse their pictures as much as possible. It all depends on the privacy settings provided by the user. Instagram's big asset: ease of use and filters.

But above all, everyone can play the great photographer with his smartphone! Thanks to the filters and without having any particular knowledge of photography, it is possible to give each of his pictures a vintage look and retro, like an old polaroid. A way to give a real cachet to the most basic photos.

On the other hand, Instagram users also appreciate the variety of photos shown. Indeed, on Instagram, no fuss, we can as well post the picture of a beautiful landscape as that of the cupcakes that have just cooked ... To believe that with a vintage filter, everything becomes nicer!

Instagram: and more ...

While everyone is still wondering about the motivations of Facebook through the purchase of Instagram, many are thinking about the capabilities of the young application. Indeed, less than two years after its creation, Instagram has already managed to attract more than 30 million users. For some, this purchase is a way for Facebook to compete with the young social network Pinterest, also specialized in the sharing of photographs.

But Facebook is not the only one to have felt the vein and more and more companies are already betting much on Instagram. Among them, the company Blurb, offering Instagram users to create a book from their favorite photos taken via the mobile application. One thing is for sure, Instagram's success has only just begun!

And you, are you using Instagram? What use do you make of this application? And what filter do you prefer?

* Free app and available on the App Store and on Google Play.