Can you think back to a time when there was no social media? When you literally had to CALL your loved ones to check on them? I certainly do. Times have changed and phone calls are thing of the past. Most folks take advantage of platforms like Facebook and Instagram to keep up with their family and friends. Most recently, my family and I found ourselves relying heavily upon the Instagram location stories feature as storms ravished both the Gulf and Florida Coast, Puerto Rico and most recently Las Vegas.
Earlier this year TechCrunch broke the news that Instagram was testing Location Stories, which aggregate into a collaborative slideshow of publicly posted Stories tagged with a location sticker. This lets you see stories from strangers. While getting a sense of what’s happening in a certain area.
As the world watches in horror at the devastation in Puerto Rico and now Las Vegas, I realized how Instagram location stories are connecting families in crisis. During the recent storms that hit my area in Houston I utilized Instagram’s story and location tag features to communicate. Even if I couldn’t communicate with my family verbally, I was able to share with them what areas to search. Providing them with the immediate areas in my vicinity allowed them to understand what it truly means to reside 30 minutes outside of Houston.
Instagram location stories are easy to use, but should you need a little help, I got you. Though this is NOT a “family member GPS tracker,” Instagram location stories it IS a tool to use when you’re interested in what’s happening in a particular area.
Let’s test it, whip out your phone and follow these steps. I’ve used my personal account to assist in locating certain area in Houston. You can search Puerto Rico and or Las Vegas as well!
Click the ‘Search & Explore’ icon found at the bottom of your home screen.
Type the location you’d like to see in the search bar. I used ‘Houston’ as the example here and of course all my friends pop up! Hey Y’all…
Click the map pin at the very top. It’s usually in pink or red.
Sit back and watch what’s happening. The dashed line at the top indicates how many stories there are for a specific area. There are 20 Houston stories right now.
Technology always has some pluses especially in emergencies! Snapchat has similar features and I definitley used them during Hurricane Harvey.
It’s truly amazing isn’t it?! I need to step my snap chat game up!
Yep! HPD actually caught some Houstonians shooting at homes and businesses via the map locators! They were arrested today! Someone say it on the snapchat map.
Jesus!