Tag: social media

Gen Z: When Real Meets Digital

On November 6, 2019

The next time you point to millennials as the masterminds behind a new slang word or a viral online trend, you might want to inspect another group: Gen Z. These are the people born between 1997 and 2012 and thus, have never known life without the internet.

Since their earliest years, Gen Z had been conditioned to polish and prime their online presence in order to become the most presentable version of themselves. Their selfies, for example, go through a painstaking selection and editing process before being posted online.

It’s not just the selfies

This habit of zooming in to every detail to project a picture-perfect life extends beyond selfies. Nearly all photos that make it to their social media accounts, from family pictures to food shots to travel snaps, are subject to the same stringent curation process. And they certainly wouldn’t mind going out of their comfort zones for a jaw-dropping photo.

Unclear but Present Danger

However, maintaining a Pinterest-worthy online presence has its perils. The more we rely on technology to improve our lives, the more accessible our data becomes. The laptops and mobile phones that we can’t live without could easily be used to spy on us. Everything from your location to your passwords and financial details, as well as mundane things, such as what you had for dinner last night, can be uncovered online. Data privacy is—and will always be—an ever-pressing concern, and Gen Z, given the speed at which they adopt the latest apps and trends, are the most vulnerable.

Here at Nixplay, we use the most modern physical, managerial, and technical safeguards that are designed to improve the integrity and security of your photos, videos, and other personally identifiable information. The servers on which personal information is stored are kept in a controlled environment with limited access, and your data is encrypted and protected using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol. Nixplay is also GDPR-compliant, and we will let you access and even delete your data that we store, upon your request.

Your online safety and privacy is our priority. With Nixplay, you can ensure that you’re sharing your moments safely and securely.

Mars Salazar

Marianne is Nixplay’s Web Content Editor. Her hobbies include exploring new places, playing table tennis, and cuddling puppies. Send her a message at marianne.salazar@nixplay.com.

How To Improve Your Selfie Game This 2019

By Nixplay Team

On February 18, 2019

In Photography

We’re almost two months into 2019—time just flies, huh? That said, have you changed your profile pictures already? While it’s far from being a necessity, it’s a nice way to edit and reevaluate your social media presence. The easiest way to do this is to take a selfie and get on with your day, but it has to be a really good selfie to be considered profile picture-worthy.

So, how exactly can you take a selfie that’s majestic enough to be featured prominently online? Read on for some easy tips. Don’t forget to display your best selfies on your Nixplay frame!

Use the rear camera.

While the front camera lets you examine how you look while you’re taking your pictures, the lens’ resolution is admittedly less clear. The rear camera has a higher resolution compared to the front camera, resulting in clearer, more defined images. Using the rear camera also forces you to look at the lens instead of your phone’s screen, letting you engage with your selfies’ viewers in a better way.

Find your light.

The key to looking great in all your photos is to look for the most flattering light source and face it. But choose your light carefully. Harsh, fluorescent white light can be extremely unflattering, so opt for natural light as often as possible. Take your selfies outdoors or near windows, when the sun isn’t so high up in the sky. The few hours after sunrise and before sunset, in particular, can bathe you in a beautiful golden glow. If there’s no source of natural light, opt for warm yellow indoor light instead.

Mind your background.

Look for pretty wallpaper, vibrantly hued walls, colorful tiles, or picturesque sweeping views. These seemingly small details will go a long way in making your selfies more interesting and more worthy to be a replacement for your current profile picture. But before you take that photo, don’t forget to check your background first. Look for wires, mess, or trash that you can take out of the frame. And if you’re taking a selfie at a particularly beautiful bathroom—for the love of all that is photogenic, please keep the toilet bowl out of the frame!

Don’t over-edit!

It’s okay to do minimal edits to your selfies: minimize eyebags, neutralize red spots, and adjust the lighting to achieve a great glow. But don’t go overboard and start resizing your nose and shaving your jawline! Too much editing will make you scarcely recognizable, turning you into a completely different person. You want to still be recognizable in your selfies, not to look like a cartoon version of yourself.

Angle away.

You probably have at least one friend who always looks good in all her photos. Either your friend is just really good-looking, or maybe he or she just knows all the most flattering angles. Practice your poses in front of the mirror, and try different angles and smiles until you find the perfect angle: One that elongates your neck, conceals your eye bags, and just makes you look like a better version of yourself.

3 Easy Instagrammable Recipes You Should Master This 2019

By Nixplay Team

On January 24, 2019

In Lifestyle

In this day and age, everything deserves a post on your social media feed, along with a corresponding hashtag—from your beach vacation (#VitaminSea), shoes (#Shoefie), to your food (#Foodstagram). Especially the food.

Browsing Instagram for even a few minutes should lead you to at least one photo of a meal, and there are several accounts dedicated to all kinds of dishes and cuisine. And as if to prove a point, a photo of a lowly egg recently became the most-liked photo on the social media platform, beating the likes of Selena Gomez and Kylie Jenner.

And you won’t hear any complaints from us: We’re very passionate about food, and we don’t mind seeing our social media feeds overridden by pictures of cake, pizza, or steak—plus points if they’re homemade! If your culinary repertoire isn’t as extensive as you’d like, fear not: Being inexperienced in the kitchen shouldn’t deter you from trying your hand at cooking. Start by trying these easy recipes. Don’t forget to take photos of your dishes after, and display them on your Nixplay frame!

Caprese Salad

This Italian salad evokes images of lazy sun-drenched summer holidays in the Isle of Capri. It’s impossibly simple to create and photographs well too.

Ingredients
3 medium vine-ripened tomatoes
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese (or more, if you’re like us and cannot get enough of cheese)
20 fresh basil leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Slice tomatoes and mozzarella into 1/4″ thick pieces. Arrange them in an alternating pattern on a platter, adding a basil leaf between each. Drizzle it with extra-virgin olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Avocado Toast

The Internet’s love affair with avocados doesn’t seem to be fading away any time soon. Take advantage of the obsession with this healthy fruit with this yummy breakfast.

Ingredients
1 8-ounce ripe avocado
Fine salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 slices whole wheat bread
Unsalted butter, softened
Crushed red pepper flakes and sea salt (optional)

Mash the avocado until chunky, then season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Toast the bread then lightly spread butter on each slice. Put the mashed avocado on top of the bread, and season with sea salt and red pepper flakes if desired.

Steak

There’s no such thing as a wrong time for steak. If you’re buying steak to cook at home, look for meat with excellent marbling (that’s the term for the streaks of fat on the meat), and consider its grade (USDA Prime is the best, but Choice or Select are also okay). When you’re lucky enough to have a gorgeous slab of prime meat in your pantry, you should be able to cook it properly to get more bang for your buck (or should we say beef?).

Ingredients
1 steak (Fillet or sirloin are the best, but you can’t go wrong with a well-marbled ribeye or porterhouse)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tbsp. canola oil
Herbs, to taste

Season the steak generously with salt and pepper before cooking. Drizzle canola oil into a very hot (but not smoking) frying pan, wait for a bit, then place the steak. Add the butter and the herbs. Sear evenly on each side, taking into consideration the steak’s thickness and your preferred doneness. Place the steak on a warm plate or board and let it rest for around five minutes. Serve it with your chosen side dish—you can’t go wrong with potatoes or mushrooms!

nixplay blog importance of having a curated instagram feed

The Importance Of Having A Curated Instagram Feed

By Federico Alegria

On October 3, 2018

In Customer Testimonials, Photography

Photography has turned out to be the universal language among us human beings, and many people haven’t realized the important role photographs have in their lives nowadays. Today we want to give you something to think about: The quality of content on your Instagram feed.

With such a massive invasion of images flooding our feeds constantly, keeping a highly curated Instagram feed is going to enhance your life like nothing else before. And we are not saying this in a cocky way, but you should keep your Instagram feed under control in order to make it a useful thing in your life. Otherwise, you’ll end up looking at tons of pictures with no meaning at all in your professional and your personal life.

Curated Instagram for Stronger Bonds

Keep Things Exclusive

First, let’s talk about our personal lives. It is impossible that we could ever have hundreds (or even thousands) of truly close friends and family. It is important to have a certain degree of exclusivity when it comes to our personal Instagram Feed, and you shouldn’t feel bad about it. This should respond to our necessity of keeping in touch with the lives of the people that we truly care about. For broad networking, use other social media accounts like Facebook or LinkedIn.

This Will Be Your Window to What Matters to You

Have you noticed that the family photo album has become almost extinct? This object was one of the most important assets for any family just a couple of decades ago. Now, all the images, from school pictures to travel photos, are floating in the cloud.

As long as we keep control of the beautiful things technology has to offer to us, there is no reason to freak out about this.

Less is More

You should keep in mind that not everything that is being published out there is meaningful for you; hence the necessity of keeping your Instagram feed curated. Otherwise, how would you strengthen those bonds that made the family album a valuable asset of the household?

Curated Instagram Feeds to Create Better Stuff

Your Instagram Feed as your Daily Input

The creative economy has become extremely powerful in the last years, and every creative needs to keep consuming stuff to keep updated and relevant within their respective disciplines. If you are a creative, you’ll understand this without further explanations.

Developing a Useful-Instagram Mindset

You need to see your Instagram account as a pristine place to consume the finest images out there from the creators you admire the most, as well as the peers you adore and respect. Instagram is fantastic because it allows you to discover emerging talents, as well as many great creators from all over the world.

How to Curate Your Instagram Feed

Just keep things separated. Your personal Instagram account should only have family members you care about, as well as your closest friends. Your professional Instagram account should be a meaningful place for your discipline; a portfolio that embodies your work.

The best way is to start fresh, keeping things clean right from the beginning. Of course, this isn’t always the case, so you should start doing some cleansing by designing a set of criteria that will make your feed exclusive. For example:

❌ Promotions from the newest creamery on the block
✔ The Photographer that made you fall in love with photography

High-Quality Image Consumption

You won’t escape the current state of image consumption in the world, but what you can do is to have a higher quality experience while looking at them. Viewing images through a frame satisfies this because there are no distractions such as text messages or app notifications.

Now, imagine having your highly curated Instagram feed showcased in a digital frame that will give you a richer connection between you and your loved ones. It’s almost like going to a gallery with all your favorite creatives, right at your own place.

This is exactly what you can get with a Nixplay frame: An absolutely nurturing image consumption experience with no distractions at all, updated in real time. Unlike other digital frames, Nixplay lets you update your images wherever in the world you may be.

Always Keep This in Mind

One thing that you need to keep clear about when curating (or even designing) your feed, is that Instagram was born as a social network in which the only way of sharing stuff is via images. Nowadays there are comments and direct messages, but the spirit of the platform is still the same: Image-based content, period.

Therefore, you should only follow accounts that publish images that will inspire you or will keep you uplifted, and not the other way around. If you can manage to spot those accounts, you’ll be a healthy image consumer.

Federico Alegria

Federico is a documentary photographer, writer and educator based in El Salvador. Check out his photography portfolio.

https://federicoalegria.com/