Travel
Esther Swaty
Moving to Austin, Texas

It’s hard to believe I from Seattle in Austin, Texas on August 8, 2019 and now I’ve almost been here for two weeks. In a way it feels like so much has happened and so little at the same time. The story of how my partner and I ended up in Austin is long and short.

Moving to Austin, Texas
Learning, Social Media
Esther Swaty
Today’s Citizens Must Equip Themselves For The ...

Today, data and algorithms have influence over everything from our democracy, to our homes, to our work. We are in an era of seemingly unlimited technological progress and the speed of innovation requires citizens to be engaged in non-partisan learning and discussion. We don’t have to know everything but we need to know enough to think critically and ask questions about the technologies being developed, as well as be able to hold accountable the individuals and organizations creating them.

Today’s Citizens Must Equip Themselves For The Technological Future

instagram

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3 Tips For Making Your Social Media Shine

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I'm thrilled to introduce Andrea Alder, another brilliant lady that I met via Instagram (I tell you - definitely be on the lookout for your tribe on Instagram). Andrea is a rock star stylist and Seattle is damn lucky to have her. Today, she shares her favorite social media tips. I love her perspective.

Social Media Tip #3: Interact, Aesthetic, Shine!

Interact with your feed: We live in a world of social media, but that doesn't mean we don't interact with each other besides liking a picture here and there. If someone came up to me on the street and commented on my outfit I would thank them- the same goes for my social media. I think it's very important to participate in your comment thread, respond personally to my followers and engage in conversation. This creates a more genuine interaction and a larger social network.

Create an aesthetic: Branding yourself is like creating a virtual personality. Most successful Instagram accounts have a very distinctive aesthetic to their feed, whether is the same type of image being posted ( e.g. nature images, outfit posts, beauty tips) or the same filter used on all images to create a correlation between one image to the other. If you have a favorite filter, use it!! This will help your followers know when an image might belong to you.

Make it shine: You don't need to spend money on a fancy camera anymore to have beautiful images on your feed. While I keep a little Leica on hand for BTS shots of my work, I mostly use my iPhone for sharing my day to day life and inspiration. They key is good light, by this I mean natural light. Have a new necklace you want to show off? Find a white surface and go by your window. I find morning light to be the prettiest and softest so I like to take most of my flatlays in the morning, I also like to hold a foam core board on the opposite side of my object so the light from the window bounces off from the foam core and into the "dark" side of my object and this way I can create a nicely lit balanced image. If all this sounds like too much, try my favorite editing app "Snapseed" I love using the exposure brush to brighten areas of my image that might be too dark.

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