Earlybird. Sutro. Toaster. Inkwell. Nashville. Kelvin. Not a random assortment of words, but a few of the many filters available on Instagram, the free photo-sharing social network that many students on campus now use. In addition to being a medium to connect with friends, Instagram is starting to be used as a marketing tool, not just as a method to make sunsets or happy-hour cocktails look “cooler.”

Ari Rozen, junior in AHS, uses the social media application for her own personal enjoyment, stemming from a lifelong interest in photography.

“My whole life I have been a photography fan — I don’t have any fancy cameras, but I just like taking pictures,” she said. “But just taking pictures can be a little boring. Instagram is a great way to enhance the photos, make them look a little nicer and more artsy.”

Rozen has seen many types of Instagrammed pictures pop up on her feed, with her friends Instagramming everything from scenery to group shots to animals. Rozen’s top Instagram pic? Food.

“I like to take pictures of food, because food, I think it is definitely something that you can make look really nice,” she said. “The filters can make it any type of style that you want.”

While users are free to Instagram whatever they want, that doesn’t mean that they should, Rozen said.

“Sometimes people will Instagram a magazine cover or a picture of the TV show they are watching, and I don’t think that’s necessary,” she said. “Not everything that you are doing or thinking of needs a picture.”

Alumna Emily Cleary uses Instagram both recreationally and professionally.

“(My Instagram) tends to usually be more fashion related, and I don’t have to do that, but it is just what my interest is,” she said. “Sometimes I will post pictures that relate back to my blog, and I work for a jewelry company, so I will post pictures of our items and how I choose to wear them.”

Now a year and a half after she first joined this social network, Cleary has started using it as a networking tool.

“I follow people in the fashion world. Everyone from editors of magazines to bloggers to news sources to celebrities,” she said. “Right now, New York Fashion Week is going on, so it’s a great tool to follow the shows. … If you are following bloggers and editors who are there, they are constantly updating pictures of the shows, so it’s a really great way to get a live feed of what’s going on.”

Cleary has seen firsthand how useful Instagram can be to connect with consumers.

“I think it’s actually one of the strongest marketing tools,” she said. “I have had people see the jewelry that I sell on Instagram, and then they will go on and buy it. So it’s a really good way to build a customer base.”

As with other social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, brands are also starting to use Instagram.

“Every brand, if it’s up on technology, it will have an Instagram now, because it is a really cool way for them to develop an even stronger sense of brand identity,” Cleary said. “It helps you feel more in touch with the brand. “

With just a few clicks, any picture can be turned into a work of art. But is that taking away from real photography? Photograhper Josh Kirshenbaum, junior in LAS, thinks Instagram takes away from the work that true artists go through to create the perfect picture.

“I think it kind of takes away from the true art of photography,” he said. “It takes a lot of work to edit photos and to do certain types of things with pictures.”

After taking photography classes and experiencing the process of creating a beautiful picture, Kirshenbaum said it shouldn’t be as easy as clicking a button. He sees Instagram as a quick fix.

While the effects of Instagram on the world of photography can be debated, the fact is that the company itself has grown quickly since its launch in October of 2010. With a $1 billion dollar offer from Facebook recently made to the company’s 13 employees, it is uncertain what changes will happen in the future.

“I hope they don’t start trying to make money off of it because I think that would kind of ruin it,” Cleary said.

“I hope they don’t put ads on it ever. I like it the way it is.”

_Kelly can be reached at [email protected]._