'Instagraming' more fun with Globe mobile Internet

MANILA, Philippines - Photo sharing application Instagram has definitely taken the world by storm with over 80 million users around the globe sharing nearly four billion photos.

This growing popularity of Instagram driven by the increasing number of “Instagramers” or “IGers” has given birth to over 200 IGer communities present in almost all the major cities around the world. 

These communities are composed of passionate IGers dedicated to sharing their creativity and self-expression through photos.

Creativity and self-expression is almost second nature to Filipinos, that is why it is not surprising that Instagramers Manila or IGers Manila (@IGers Manila) was born.

Founded by Carl Lozano (@cclozano), the global community of Filipino Instagram users around the world, has grown to a 12,500-strong membership.

Its pioneering initiative, the #9pmhabit photo challenge has created a huge following among Instagram users, being one of the longest-running photo challenges in the entire Instagram universe.

“The #9pmhabit is a daily photo challenge where we ask our members to share and tag photos with a specific topic. We then choose four photos to comprise our top photo picks the next day,” Lozano said.

“Response to this challenge has been pretty overwhelming. IGers Manila members would upload an average of 1,000 unique photos of a single topic,” he added.

Aside from photo sharing activities, IGers Manila regularly holds “Instameets” for its members. Instameets are photo walks where members meet and share tips, techniques, and experiences in taking photos and sharing them via Instagram.

“Encouraging our members to ‘Keep the Good Vibes Rolling’ through photo sharing, IGers Manila aims to spread not only beautiful photos but also promote positivity, interaction, and camaraderie,” said Ed Calaycay (@edcalaycay), one of IGers Manila’s moderators.

With the need to stay connected to the World Wide Web via affordable data plans, IGers Manila partners with Globe Telecom to allow the Instagram community to share their works of art anytime, anywhere.

With a reliable connection, Globe also paves the way for members to like, comment, and give photo sharing tips and tricks to their fellow IGers.

“Inspiration strikes me anywhere. I love taking pictures even of the most mundane things using Instagram. With Globe PowerSurf, I can share and post on Instagram anytime, anywhere without spending too much. It’s also very convenient because I don’t have to look for Wi-Fi just to share stories and experiences via photos. It’s photo sharing in an instant,” said Petim Maminta (@ipetim), one of IGers Manila’s moderators who popularized #lightology, now with 11,972 tagged photos.

To mark the partnership between Globe and IGers Manila, the “ON with the Good Vibes” photo challenge was launched in July. Every week until October, Globe and IGers Manila, via their Instagram accounts @IGersManila and @EnjoyGlobe, will announce a photo topic and a specific time when participants can post their photo entries.

The themes and topics can vary from photography techniques, colors and variations, photo edits, filters and effects, everyday subjects and stories, and the unique Pinoy lifestyle and culture.

Five winners will be announced at the end of each week and will receive limited Globe-IGers Manila freebies and merchandise plus an exclusive invite to join an IGers Manila photo walk.

Photos taken during the photo walks will have the chance to be included in the first Instagram Exhibit in November.

To join, participants must be subscribed to any Globe PowerSurf or SuperSurf plan during the time of the posting.

To get the full mechanics, visit www.igersmanila.com.

“We are very excited to be part of the growing Instragram community in the Philippines with our partnership with IGers Manila and the launch of our photo challenge for Instagram fanatics,” said Jenny Granada-Echevarria, head of Globe Mobile Data Services.

“Our mobile Internet plans are perfect for IGers Manila members as well as with users who cannot get enough of Instragram. With Globe PowerSurf Megabytes (MB) plans, Instragram users can control how long they want to stay connected, control how many photos they can upload in a day based on their MB allocation, and control their budget, so they can make their own rules when it comes to their digital lifestyle,” Granada-Echevarria added.

Prepaid subscribers on a budget can choose the following affordable PowerSurf plans: 20MB for P15 valid for one day, 50MB for P30 also valid for one day, and 100MB for P50 valid for three days.

Prepaid and postpaid subscribers looking for plans with higher MB allocation and longer validity can avail themselves of the following 30-day PowerSurf MB variants: 50MB for only P99, 300 MB for only P299, and 1GB (1024MB) for only P499. Subscribe to a Globe PowerSurf MB plan of your choice now by texting Powersurf to 8888 or dialing *143# for free.

To learn more about Globe PowerSurf MB plans, visit http://surf.globe.com.ph.