I left Instagram for Lens and gained back my mental health, creativity, and thousands of followers
A notification flashes across my screen. An artist turned a photo of me on a walk into a digital drawing, put it up for mint, and is now sharing profits with me.
We just had our first sale, too. I’ve been on this app for just over a week and not a single person has slid into my comment section pitching me their services, asking for a favor, or peddling any products. It feels as if I’ve just left a toxic ex behind and finally met my social soulmate.
This has been my experience leaving Instagram for Lens. And as a dedicated digital creator with 7 years of experience building a business on social media, I’m here to tell you that Web3 social media spearheaded by Lens will become the leader in the space and replace the spammy, self-interested likes of Instagram in the next decade or sooner.
The evolution of Instagram: from a hipster photo-sharing app to a “money-printing” machine
I joined Instagram when I was in college, right around 2012. At the start, people used the app to share things they found pretty. A cozy cup of coffee drenched in morning sunlight somewhere in mid-town Manhattan; a rising sourdough bread served as the base for aesthetic avocado toast. It was our outlet for self-expression and social interactions with strangers who became friends.
But sometime around the 2020 pandemic, it all changed. With everyone stuck at home scrolling and suddenly deciding it was the perfect time to launch a side hustle, Instagram morphed into a materialistic, money-printing machine.
Posts became increasingly fake, overly-edited, and infused with sales copywriting instead of just sharing a thought. Logging in to Instagram became a zero-sum game of hustlers turned “creators” racing to sell their services before the next person.
My feed got flooded with ads, and short video sales letters promoting a “simple system proven to help you earn $10K in 10 days.” I started dreading my DMs. What was once compliments on my photography became “Hey lovely, I’ve got 5 spots open for women in my new mastermind where I’ll teach you how to sync your cycle to the moon and make money, goddess!” In a word — insufferable.
Rise of the fake “creator”
Marketers saw the opportunity Instagram presented — reaching consumers on a one-to-one basis and charming the change out of their pockets through psychology-driven writing, stock photos, and appearing “relatable” by researching other people’s experiences on Reddit.
But none of these people actually cared about creativity because as soon as you enrolled in their course or bought their product, they ghosted immediately. On one occasion, a “money coach” sent me a 60-second heartfelt voice note telling me how amazing I was that nearly brought my friend to tears when I played it out loud… immediately followed by pitching me to join her mastermind for the no-brainer investment of $5,000 for 60 days. After I politely declined, she went radio silent and our “friendship” suffered a quick death in the DMs.
I spent the last two years disappointed with Instagram, yet still posting content because I’m a creator at heart and I needed an outlet. I couldn’t help but wonder though, isn’t there a better way?
How Web3 social media is restoring Creator faith
In July, I attended ETH CC in Brussels and happened to wander into an event hosted by Avara, the mother company of Lens. They gave me a branded shirt that I packed away and forgot about until a month later. Unpacking my suitcase and seeing said shirt, I decided to check out Lens.
I created a profile on August 9 without much expectation of anything. I started posting photos of things I enjoy, such as my morning cappuccino, some flowers I stumbled upon on a walk, and a couple of pics from a road trip.
Suddenly, I started getting likes. And comments. And followers. My humble profile grew from zero to 500 in a week. Then came the mints.
I decided to experiment and put some of my photos up for “sale.” Perfect strangers minted my posts and sent me tips. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Not only was nobody pitching me or peddling any products, but they were actually sending me crypto for sharing mundane things I liked. My mind was blown.
Five $BONSAI here, a thousand $POINTLESS there… I used my earnings to support other creators and mint their art. I was firmly embedded in the creator cycle. Jessy Jeane, a Lens superstar with more than 29,000 followers shared my profile and encouraged others to follow me. They did. She asked for nothing in return. I felt like I finally found my creative home.
The new generation of artists is allergic to Instagram tactics
One evening while scrolling, I noticed something that (in my opinion) did not belong on Lens. It was a post that went like this “I’m looking for 5 people to interview on a video call but don’t worry I won’t sell you my coaching.” For something like 24 hours, it had zero engagement. No likes or comments. Eventually, someone responded but it was a far cry from the engagement most Lens creators receive.
And that reaffirmed my theory that Instagram tactics won’t fly on Lens. What social media platform creators need to understand is that artists are feeling jaded. While Web3 people like to refer to ourselves as “the weirdos” vs “the normies,” we have to understand that we all come from the same baseline — we’ve all been on Instagram.
**Cue the iconic movie quote — “Raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimized by Regina George”**
And we’re looking for something better. Creators want an honest, mutually beneficial relationship with a social platform that serves as an outlet, a meeting point, and an inspiration. I’m convinced that Lens can provide that. And for the change to happen on a mass scale, Lens will require momentum.
The tech is there to back up the mission. Orb Club, the app powering Lens is as simple to use as Instagram. You just open it, upload a post, and set a price if you want to make it “collectable.” There are currently no DM capabilities which honestly, I don’t mind. I’d rather let my art speak for myself.
Plus, and this may shock you — if you get stuck on Orb, their team will actually help you! As in, a real human will take a look at your issue and try to resolve it. I had a small glitch early on trying to set up my club where I sent the wrong crypto to my wallet. The Orb team helped me fix it in minutes. Instagram users can only dream of this kind of support.
The great social me-gration
Far too many Web3 creators, founders, and builders have Lens profiles but never post. If they made a decision to come back, revive their accounts, and give their energy to Lens and its supportive Orb Club rather than Instagram, we will set the great social migration in motion. It starts with the individual, one person at a time. It starts with “me.”
If you‘d like to connect, find me on Lens.
