Writer Margaret Laprarie rates TU Instagram accounts on their relevancy, aesthetic and influence.
If you’re a TU student with an Instagram account, you’ve probably received a random follow (or even a feature!) from one of the many TU-related Instagrams that have appeared over the last several months. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for them outside of a few laughs and maybe a few inside jokes, but nonetheless they have become a major source of entertainment for students on campus. I have definitely received more than one message linking me to a recent post from one TU account or another, asking if I’d seen so-and-so or if I’d come across X photo yet.
Despite their novelty, are any of these accounts any good? If you don’t accept that follow request, and you don’t scroll through them, are you really missing anything? That seems to depend on who you are and how you relate to the content they provide. No matter what your stake in the content is, they still lend themselves to a few key characteristics, some better than others.
We’ll start on a high note.
@tu_cats1:
Feed Aesthetic: 10/10, Cats, cats and more cats, what else could you want?
Quality of Individual Posts: 10/10, Multiple photos always available, plenty of information in the descriptions about the cats. Cute and informative!
Meme Content: N/A, No memes here, but they make up for it in more cats.
Relevancy: 10/10, How else are we supposed to know which cats are which, and how they’re all related?
Influence: 10/10, I mention this account on nearly every campus tour I give and it is burned into my psyche forever.
Overall Score: 10/10
You cannot go wrong with scrolling through the @tu_cats1 instagram account. The cats are precious, each post is informative and entertaining, and this is by far one of the accounts with the highest level of engagement.
This is where things get a little dicey.
@utulsa_milkdrinkers:
Feed Aesthetic: 4/10, Although the feed is a little chaotic, the vibe seems to resemble a finsta account, which usually invites the good kind of chaotic content. However, the posts still lack cohesion, and I wouldn’t follow based on looks alone.
Quality of Individual Posts: 5/10, The posts themselves are not bad. The captions are always creative, include fun hashtags and I’m not afraid to admit they have made me laugh on more than one occasion.
Meme Content: 3/10, The memes don’t quite function as memes so much as they do edits, and the Webkinz theme is confusing. Am I missing something, or does Webkinz World have nothing to do with drinking milk?
Relevancy: 1/10, I have never once thought to myself “I wish there was an Instagram account showcasing all of my peers drinking milk.” If you have, please reach out so we can discuss.
Influence: 4/10, I’ve heard some discussion of this account, but not much. They seem to struggle with obtaining submissions, hence the weird Webkinz memes.
Overall Score: 3/10
They’re really trying, and sometimes succeeding, but I think this account has reached its expiration date.
@utulsa.matchmakers:
Feed Aesthetic: 8/10, I can always appreciate a good Google image background, and they’ve kept it consistent with the color pink and frequent use of hearts.
Quality of Individual Posts: 8/10, Again, consistency is key. Not only do the cover photos enhance the feed, but they add an air of mystery to each post. Who is the suggested couple? You have to scroll to see.
Meme Content: N/A, No memes present per se, but based on whether or not you take their content seriously, the whole account could be considered a meme.
Relevancy: 5/10, The relevancy appears to be subjective in this case, based on who the featured “couple” is, and whether or not you as the viewer know them.
Influence: 4/10, Have any of these suggested matches been realized? More data is needed to increase their score on this one.
Overall Score: 6/10
They’re definitely doing something, I’m just not sure what. At the very least, it is entertaining to scroll through, reveal the matches and see if anyone you know (or even yourself!) has popped up.
For our final account, we’ll be taking a look at @tu_affirmations
Feed Aesthetic: 10/10, Beautifully crafted edits featuring relevant TU photos, with the affirmation displayed neatly in, what font is that? Mahogany Script? Just wonderful.
Quality of Individual Posts: 10/10, The affirmations? Funny, scarily relatable. The captions? Short, simple, to the point, always the same. Who’s claiming the affirmations in the comments below? Only one way to find out.
Meme Content: 10/10, Can confidently call this entire account a meme, and they are doing the title justice.
Relevancy: 10/10, As I said, the affirmations are almost always scarily relatable. I really do believe the only way to stop a maintenance golf cart from hitting me, to prevent illness and succeed in my classes is by commenting “claim” to affirm.
Influence: 10/10, Not a day goes by that this account makes a post and I don’t see it reposted on someone’s story. Sometimes that someone is myself.
Overall Score: 10/10
Funny, well crafted and a little too real, the TU Affirmations account is the glue holding this school together.
