Instagram and the Abuse of Inappropriate Hashtags.

Some of you might have seen the commotion on one of my recent Instagram posts of late.

Firstly,

Let me first clarify that I am not out to shame any individual publicly, which was never my intention in the first place.

I am against the flagrant misuse of shop hashtags, which has been going on for some time, despite the efforts of many shops that have been going around, commenting ONE BY ONE on every single picture to politely ask the said Instagram user to please kindly remove any inappropriate hashtags.

This has been going on for some time, but I felt that the situation had reached a whole new low when I came across this: Someone actually hashtagging pictures of her cosmetics for sale, with shop hashtags.

-____-

As you can see, I was so mad about it that I actually left a comment with my personal account, quite politely asking this user to stop abusing hashtags, because it is extremely unethical, to me at least.

AND GUESS WHAT?

This person actually ignored me, and had the cheek to delete my comment, pretending that nothing ever happened!

I don't deny it, I was extremely pissed off. And so I posted this on my Instagram.

To the kind folks who have agreed with me, left a comment of support, and helped to report those users/photos, thank you so much. Some other users have commented that I am being unnecessarily harsh, but in fact, I am just minding my own business (literally!)

Why am I so pissed off with inappropriate hashtagging?

Hashtags are there for a purpose.

When I search for a particular hashtag, obviously, I am looking for Instagram pictures of something in specific. Especially when it comes to names and brands. 

For instance, if I were to search for #AngelinaJolie, I sure don't wish to see pictures of random unattractive naked girls who look nothing like Angelina Jolie. And if I search for #Chanel, I am not interested in random pictures of quilted imitation bags from Taobao that have been happily tagged as #Chanel too. Hashtags are there to facilitate easy browsing and sharing on Instagram, NOT for abusing by being used inappropriately!

For many customers who search for a particular shop hashtag, what they are looking for are Instagram pictures of outfits and reviews, from customers who have bought/worn items from the shop, or yes, even buying/selling posts of apparel, but only relevant to the shop.

By inappropriately hashtagging all these shops, customers and myself have to trawl through a HUGE amount of junk, and it is really really frustrating when all you want to do is look at nice pictures of outfits.

There are even more unscrupulous people, who have their own shops and resort to hashtagging the "popular" shops in order to get more viewership for their shops. SERIOUSLY? That is the lowest of the low. I can't even begin to tell you how much I abhor unethical business people, even more than unethical people in general.

Just take a look at one of the most popular online shops in Singapore, and their hashtag gallery.

Out of the first 21 photos, 14 of them are NOT EVEN RELATED to LoveBonito. That is the extent to which hashtags are being abused by our local shopping community on Instagram. It is ridiculous.

How you can help to play a part

If you are a customer of the shop viewing their hashtag gallery, and you see all these inappropriately tagged photos, what you can do is to tap on the "Photo Options", to "Report Inappropriate" and flag the photo as spam.

Tap on the button on the bottom right.

Then tap on "Report Inappropriate"

And you can report the photo as spam.

Good riddance to all these spam photos, and let's make Instagram and shop hashtags a pleasanter experience for everybody! If you are one of those guilty of inappropriate hashtags, I implore you to stop doing so, and only use the appropriate hashtags at your own discernment.

xoxo

 PS. I have removed the photo on my Instagram as nicely requested by the person in question who has also removed her inappropriate pictures/hashtags, but I wish to increase awareness of this issue, which is why I am posting it on my blog instead.

PPS. I don't usually like to rant or bitch on this space, but let's just say I woke up with fiery intent to make the world a better place.

PPPS. If some of you ignorant folks are gonna say, WTF, you think you own that hashtag on Instagram? Who are you to tell me to stop using it? I'd like to say this to you. Dude, you don't own the road either, so you mean I can't tell you not to litter on the roads if I see you doing so? Please get the idea of social etiquette and courtesy into your befuzzled mind.

PPPPS. If you don't shop online, or don't belong to the local online shopping community, you probably have no idea what the fuss is all about, in which case, just ignore this post!

injustice rankles

don't usually blog about negative things regarding TVD, but i'm feeling pretty angsty now, and i just had to get it off my chest :/

i've been managing the blogshop for over a year now,

and there's always been good and bad times, it's not like everyone thinks, that it's such a breeze to run TVD and it got established so quickly and all that.

i guess maybe it's just too much for me + one helper to handle, so sometimes we might be slow in replying to emails, or accidentally send out registered articles via normal mail, or send items in the wrong size etc.

no matter what it is, we usually try our best to resolve all issues, and to keep the customer happy. so it really really rankles me when customers complain about poor CS or bad attitude or what not.

no invoice sent = item is all pending/sold. this is quite standard blogshop protocol, and i don't think it reflects on a shop's CS at all?

2011-09-21 09:41 pm (local) (from 202.65.245.10) (link) Select

em. i commented yesterday on the highwaist shorts but you didn;t even email me to tell me whether its pending or whatever? at least have the courtesy can? ok seriously. you guys should improve on your customer service attitude as there are a lot of complaints going around regarding your shop. you still want your customers than kindly improve!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

what do you mean by a lot of complaints going around regarding my shop, and if i still want my customers, then kindly improve? i have no idea who left this comment, but i'm sure it's a brand new customer who has never shopped with us before.

why so judgmental? and so rude.

yes i know there are bound to be complaints here and there, with some unhappy customers/transactions, but my conscience is very clear that we do our best to resolve any issues at hand and deal with every customer honestly and we definitely don't cheat our customers of their hard-earned money or do anything unethical. customers are not stupid. if we are really so highly complained about, and with such terrible CS and attitude, we would have closed down by now and be boycotted by the online shopping universe. so please, read what you see on forums/websites with a discerning mind!

i think only other blogshop owners would empathize with me. sigh :(

i really, really, put a lot of heart and soul into TVD, ever since i started running it full time. same as so many other blogshop owners i know, we work our asses off cos we enjoy the process so much, we love manufacturing apparel, we love fashion, we love happy customers.

i know we have a lot to improve on, especially in terms of efficiency and email replies. cos we get so many emails a day, we can't even get around to replying all of them within 24 hours, especially when there are other jobs to be done, like packing/mailing out orders, stocking-in at our retail rack, photo shoots, discussing samples and etc. it's really draining at times.

我也不想让人家越描越黑，不过我真的认为有些顾客真的是很莫名其妙，简直是在占我们便宜。。把我们的好意当成理所当然，虽然根本都不是我们的错，也非要我们赔罪不可。嗨

也不能怎样，就只好认输。。反正顾客永远是对的。只是感到很无奈，很失败。

真的不容易，真的很累。

我虽然很努力的在进步，还是永远没办法样样完美无瑕。

just hope that customers will give us the grace to learn and improve, and to better cope with the growing customer base.

we're working at it!

of course, i am eternally grateful to all the really nice customers as well, those that send us emails to tell us how much they love our apparel, those who are always super patient and super understanding even when we screw up.. the nasty customers don't realize it, that being nicer would probably get you better results than being nasty, hahaha. i love you all TVD fans! always making my day whenever i'm feeling demoralized or down.

just remember, a smile begets a smile :) what comes around, goes around.

i believe in karma...

new washes for candy empire shorts! guess i have to rename it now, to denim empire! heh. comes in washed black & washed blue now! :)

either the fit is slightly smaller, or i'm fatter. size M is really tight on me! :( tassel embroidery top is also an upcoming piece! love it super much!

the shorts are not gonna be launched yet, no photoshoots planned this week! so earliest will be next next collection. just a sneak preview for the disappointed girls who missed the extras from BO, now you have two new classic washes to look forward to! :D

okays. end of rant. promise we'll get back on track tomorrow, i'll bring my darling macbook air along with me to the hair salon to reply each and every single email if possible!

WOOHOO

morning!

i feel like dying because my internet is down and i'm using the extremely slow and inconvenient iphone internet tethering to stay online! :((( was unable to reply emails thus, wanted to launch tonight but i think 算了, 没办法! :( because i need to clear the 29511942 emails first! :( *spam sad smiley faces*

so. just to keep the bored readers entertained (i'm assuming there are actually still some readers left and they havent all migrated else where ;(... here's the song we performed live on radio last week, 珊瑚海 by jay chou & lara.

i need to do so many things, i don't know where to start!

sianszzdsedf

oh and GUESS WHAT! the results for Face of Salon Vim 2011 is out!!!!

AND MY DARLING MODEL CLARA WON!!!!!!!!!! SO SO SO SO HAPPY FOR HER!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D YAYY!!!!! next time she will have even more chio and gorgeous hair! my other friend Evonne was one of the 3 finalists too! too bad they didnt have more than one winner! :((

(yes, that's the Lace Insert Tunic in a new color. hehe)

woohoo!!!! congratulations!!!!

i love her write-up btw, definitely +++ points for effort!

Name: Clara
Age: 22+
Occupation: Undergraduate
Style: Comfort Casual and Playful
Reason for participating: We’ve all done it. We change our hairstyles for many reasons- out of boredom, as a confident booster, keeping up with fashion trends or for some, after a heart-wrenching breakup. So, why did I sign up for this? Been naturally endowed with heavy, thick, frizzy and stiff locks, my attempts in getting them dyed, straightened and curled at various salons over the years did not pay off. This entire process is not only costly and unproductive (note: I hate wasting money), but it has resulted in damaged and dry hair. Salon Vim came into the picture through my blogger friend’s recommendation and I became even more intrigued after browsing through pictures of remarkable makeovers, gorgeous hairstyles and healthy hair textures spotted by their customers. With this, I have decided to let my adventurous side take the lead and I trust that I will be in good hands. =)

watch the results video here! and you can look at all the contest submissions on Salon Vim's facebook page too!

speaking of which, i really need to go for a haircut! :(

wanted to go today hai. see how see how.

hello LaFemmeDaBelle!!!

i love mai new birdie necklace it's so pweeetty!

helloooo folks!

damn, it's only (or is it already?!) Friday and there's still 5 more days of rush rush rush ahead!

something's wrong with my stomach today because i made multiple runs to the toilet today (four times at the last count),

i suspect i had too much food. one too many Chicken McGrills maybe? >< it's really bad because my supposed detox diet in preparation for Sunday's recording is a dismal and spectacular failure and i now have about 2 days to maybe save my face from looking too bloated.

no MORE over eating tomorrow! :( fruit and salad diet, or something.

in contrast, YZ has been jogging practically daily, 10KM a day (no joke!!!) and has lost about 5-6KG to date! D:

so so so so determined. (Y) for him, but (N) for me ;(

ok shit and i left my laptop charger at the shop so i have like 2 minutes to complete this entry.

ANYWAYS.

i havent been doing any advertorials for awhile, but i figured i'd start making them a regular thing again, it must be really boring to keep on seeing TVD this and TVD that on this space, sometimes i don't mean to keep on TVD-ing but i guess it's cos right now 60% of my time is occupied by TVD! :(

so here's a little breather and a fresh new blogshop to introduce!

http://lafemmedabelle.livejournal.com/

La Femme Da Belle :D the name has such a nice ring to it!

extremely classy, and in line with its beautiful and stylish apparel. they love dresses at LaFemmeDaBelle and i must say i love their dresses too!

this is their latest manufactured goodie: a really beautiful Miss Selfridge Inspired Lace Back Dress in basic yet attractive classic shades of black and white! did i mention that their prices are really friendly too!! where can you find good quality dresses at only $27 nowadays!! (seriously. anything below $28 for a good quality dress now is definitely rare, especially with all the crazy supplier price hikes! zzzz)

i love love love the V lace back and the simple yet flattering cut of the dress :) hides the arm flabs but oozes sexaaay appeal! definitely my kind of thing for occasions when you wanna look glam but not too indecently exposed. suitable for the work crowd too!

you can check out the dress here!

and something special for casual dates: Racer-Back Dress in White which is flirtatiously adorable but not overly dressy! i can see this simple dress dressed up or down in so many ways. accent it with bright accessories and colorful shoes! or y'know do the lazy thing and dress down in flats, and a pair of huge shades. tres chic.

and and and,

here's a special preview especially for y'all, here's yet another of LaFemmeDaBelle's self-manufactured item that will be launched next week!! :D :D :D

it's another simple and chic design, and will come in pink as well!

definitely a piece to look out for!!

especially for all readers, you get $2 off any purchase when you quote "YINA" :)

do remember to sign up for their mailing list as well to be informed of updates/promotions!

go and visit LaFemmeDaBelle now! :)

http://lafemmedabelle.livejournal.com/

http://lafemmedabelle.livejournal.com/

http://lafemmedabelle.livejournal.com/