my favorite social media story: @aplasticplant
@aplasticplant is a page on Instagram that massively popularized what is now referred to as “archive pages,” accounts that post anything from news to quick facts to memes, there are no limits as long as it’s interesting to a young audience. The page has been around for 6 years now, and it’s paved the way for dozens of other creators finding success doing the same thing.
But what makes it an “archive page?” How is it different from a news page or a meme page? The combination of the two relies heavily on aesthetics. Cool and unique photos, interesting and niche stories, well-written captions, and a pleasant viewing experience are all essential to the success of aplasticplant. With Gen Z being raised on deep-fried incoherent memes and in-your-face TV-esque news graphics, a more calm approach that blends it all together is a breath of fresh air for many young social media users.
Not only does aplasticplant provide timely news and fun interactive content, they do so while fostering a genuine community. The creator of aplasticplant, who still remains anonymous to this day, frequently responds to comments, DMs and emails. This gives the audience even more of a reason to care about the account.
The influence that aplasticplant has had on the social media space, specifically Instagram, is massive. I would debate that it’s changed the landscape of Instagram entirely. Companies and larger pages have realized that being simple, informative and intimate comes across more genuine than any marketing campaign and graphics could.
To tie it into my subject for this class, it’s very evident in Formula 1 social media that a more lax approach is being used nowadays. Now whether or not this is an indirect influence from aplasticplant or not, I don’t know. But I firmly believe that aplasticplant showed the world that just being genuine gets you a long way on social media.