I just finished reading a fascinating book (No Filter by Sarah Frier) about the history of Instagram, and it motivated me to start posting to my Instagram account.
I had made a post to Instagram several years ago, but then I somehow lost my account info since I never used it, so I had to create a new one, which you can find at @jimquincy
As I pondered what to post, the following excerpt from the book stuck with me:
Influencers explain that Instagram provides them with immediate feedback about what people like, from all the measurable reactions – and the results aren’t that surprising. Selfies perform better than photos of landscapes. Showing more skin performs better than covering up. A cohesive purpose for an account performs better than randomness. Pops of color perform better than monotone. Beauty performs better than not. Doing something visually extreme performs better. Users tweak their strategies based on the numbers, until they arrive at repeatable good results. And those good results encourage a manifestation of airbrushed selfies, crazy action shots, and scantily clad influencers.
In other words, the exact opposite of what I would ever consider doing Nobody wants to see more of my skin, and I’ve got a couple strikes against me with the beauty thing and the cohesive purpose thing.
But I still felt I needed to be, and wanted to be, part of the Instagram community. Perhaps it was because of this little fact I learned from the book:
Kim Kardashian-West has 157 million followers, and makes about $1 million for a single post. That’s right. She makes more from one Instagram post than I do from teaching for several years.
So I thought “how can I get an audience like that?”, and I knew it wouldn’t be from focusing on me.
I turned to what I know best – accounting.
I often tell my students how beautiful a balance sheet is. They learn to go through all the work of recording journal entries, posting those entries to the appropriate accounts, preparing trial balances, and then finally, the financial statements.
And somehow, magically, the balance sheet balances (well, at least it is supposed to…).
And that’s when I decided that I would share the beauty of balance sheets with the world of Instagram. I have no idea if somebody else is already doing this; I’m not sure how I would search through more than one billion accounts to find out.
And if you know me, it’s probably no surprise that I would start with the balance sheet of my favorite company – Apple.
Here is their most recent balance sheet:
Notice how beautifully it is formatted, with the labels and the dollar mounts in neatly arranged columns. Notice how they kept that minimalist look, by expressing all the numbers in millions thus avoiding having to display six more numbers for each line item.
Look at all the cash Apple, and how the total current assets easily exceed the total current liabilities. Look at the amount of leverage they have. And perhaps the most beautiful thing of all – notice how total assets equals total liabilities and shareholders’ equity.
So feel free to check me out on Instagram at @jimquincy and explore the beautiful world of financial statements…
P.S. If any company wants me to highlight their financial statements, I will happily do so for $1 million per post…
P.P.S. Don’t even get me started on the beauty of the Statement of Cash Flows…
*I don’t even know if gramming is the right word to use to describe posting to Instagram, but I like the sound of it…
Be careful. Now you will have to keep tabs on Instagram stats too.
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I think I’ll be able to handle the single digit stats I generate…
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LOL! Good luck with posting those “beautiful” statements, too beautiful for words!
I am on Instagram but am one of the worst grammers. I post like once a month! At first I was real popular though. Got all kinds of messages asking how I was , calling me beautiful, aaking me to message them, etc. Learned how to use the block button real well! LOL! Poor desperate guys! My kids thought it was funny.
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sounds like you need to get back on Instagram – your fans are waiting! 🙂
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I think I will stick with my fans on WP. Some of them may be nutty but … I can handle stooges! 😉
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yay! stooges are better than creeps…
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Totally! 🙂
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I fell asleep three times, reading this post. So imagine how many times I’d fall asleep if I had Instagram, or even knew what Instagram was. I’d never lack for sleep, and would always feel refreshed and balanced.
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So I guess you need to get Instagram. 🙂
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I tried to get it, but it kept moving too fast for me.
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maybe you should try Snapchat then…
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It did, but Snapchat snapped shut on me.
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then I guess it’s time for Tik Tok…
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Tried that, too, but it was gone in seconds.
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then I guess you’re stuck with WordPRess…
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I can handle WordPress. I’m up to pressing 12-letter words, these days.
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you’ve been working out…
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You should see my pecks (on the keyboard).
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I am guessing that surfing (the web) is a key part of your fitness routine as well…
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It was until I wiped out my hard drive.
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so now it’s back to crawling the web…
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No, I took a spinner class. So now I spin webs.
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so you end up just spinning your wheels, and going nowhere…
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That’s what my spokesman has been saying.
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I never get tired of puns…
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I think he does…
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now you know how my students feel…
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Wow! I don’t begrudge Kim Kardashian for making money, but if that isn’t a reflection of a messed up society.
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my thoughts exactly!
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I love how you come out of the blocks with the immediate one million dollars for an Instagram post. Maybe you should set your price point a little lower and make up for it with volume. Being an absolute neophyte to all things accounting, I have one question. Are these financial statements from major companies considered public record and thus so easily obtainable? Good luck with your new online persona! #jimquincy
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forget about volume, this way I’ll only need one or two and I’ll be set.
and yes, these financial statements are freely available to anyone. so anyone could start doing what I am proposing to do. that’s why I’ve got to strike fast… 🙂
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You got to love a company successful enough to round up on that kind of scale…😁
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and that’s why they should be able to easily pay me a million dollars for giving them a shout out. that’s just a rounding error to them… 🙂
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Good point!
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best of luck on your insta! i know these will be thrilling posts and your numbers will soar in no time. look out kardashian clan, you’ve got serious competition!
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it’s sort of like the anti-kardashian insta…
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#jimfightsback
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#WithNoAmmunition
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#allblathernobull
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the first half is right…
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Glad you explained about the millions because I really thought… boy those numbers are low. Bitchiness does not perform. Not that I thought it really would.
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you never know about the bitchiness; there could be a niche group of Instagrammers who are attracted to bitchiness… 🙂
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I’d probably outerform everyone if there was a bitchiness category. 😎
I really don’t understand Instagram.
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seemslike there is some competition for bitchiness 🙂
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Beautiful! I will certainly go and follow you 🙂
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and I returned the favor. My instagram account is doubling in followers while I write this! 🙂
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Haha, good job!
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wow! that is a lot of research.
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I’m sure all those social media companies do a
a lot of data analysis; they know us better than we know ourselves…
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You’ve reminded me that it’s been ages since I took my Instagram account seriously. Maybe I should try again now that someone is posting a different kind of ‘figures’ from the usual sort on there…
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dang; I wish I had thought of that “figures” line…
I’m not sure how long my venture into Instagram will last, but it should be fun trying…
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Feel free to steal! I’ve followed, so I’m looking forward to loads more balance sheets. If only I knew how to read them…
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left to right, top to bottom 🙂
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Having been a direct report to our Finance Director for many years I have a vague idea…
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I’m sure it’s more than a vague idea… 🙂
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I’m fairly numerate, so I can bluff my way around – until I meet a proper accountant, when things start to unravel a bit…
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that’s a good time to start sharing your superior knowledge of music… 🙂
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Sounds like a plan to me…
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“And those good results encourage a manifestation of airbrushed selfies, crazy action shots, and scantily clad influencers.”
In my opinion this is what makes Instagram so bad! From my perspective I use it to share my fitness videos and check out others who do likewise. It’s the ones the crazy stuff/showing off the skin who give the worst advice.
I’ve not used it for a while, but have dropped you a follow!
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thanks for the follow; and I have returned the favor!
And yes, the book mentions some of the crazy stunts people have tried in order to get an Instagram post that will get lots of likes. And you are right, that is definitely a bad thing…
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A most interesting sounding book, Jim. I actually did find Apple’s balance sheet quite interesting. How surprising!
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I thought you would, Robbie!
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Laughing. Still laughing.
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thanks, David. glad you enjoyed it…
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I am following. I am not an influencer and landscapes, flowers and just about anything except selfies are what I post!
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I am sure there are many people who appreciate your landscapes and flowers as an alternative to all the selfies they come across. I look forward to seeing them myself!
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That perfectly balanced balance sheet looks beautiful! I do landscape, and street photography on instagram.
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I look forward to checking some of your IG posts…
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Gorgeous.
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I think so; my students, not so much…
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What do they know?
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they probably know the difference between now and know… 🙂
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Haha.
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Too funny! After seeing your efforts to post the hidden wonders of Accounting to Instagram, I was almost tempted to join the crowd with something about macroeconomics and microeconomics. Then I remembered that no one wants to read about the dismal science.
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you never know – I’d read it!
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I’m still trying to figure Instagram out. Heck, I’m almost as bad on WordPress. I was better using it when I began than I am now, smh.
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maybe you’re just in a rut. or perhaps your muse got COVID…
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Nah, I ‘m just not good with either of them. Frankly, I think they’re both on the convoluted side bit that’s just me.
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I agree, they both could be made easier, especially for an old guy like me…
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WordPress used to be simpler works but in my opinion, the “happiness engineers” have gone in and gummed up the works in recent years.
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I agree that they have made changes that were not necessary, and in some cases may have made the product worse…
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Welcome to Instagram!!!!!
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sad to say, that post was the alt time I used it…
I need to get into a routine,,,
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