From a simple photo- and video-sharing platform, Instagram has garnered a cult following.

The platform has evolved from just being a tool on your smartphone, where you can share photos or 15-second videos with your friends and family, into something much more. It takes people to hidden paradises, gets new friends, expands networks and even discovers untapped talents.

For Galuh Tennes, Instagram has given her a career. Starting her account @galuhtennes three years ago to share her photography hobby, the 21-year-old is now a social media specialist, managing the Instagram accounts of a yoghurt brand, a restaurant and a milk brand targeting teenagers.  

'€œInstagram has changed my life ['€¦] I can earn a living from my hobby,'€ said Galuh, who has also been invited to speak at Instapreuneur events to share her experience in building a career and business through the platform.

Galuh'€™s friend, Genies Vinonda Wilhelmina, had no plan to become a model when setting up @skinnyalien in 2011, but life took a sweet twist when her Instagram photos attracted thousands of likes and comments.

Now with 51,800 followers, she collaborates with some brands, like Samsung and Topshop, to post promotional content, often featuring herself striking a pose alongside the products, on her Instagram account.

'€œIt all started when I joined Instameet in 2013. A friend asked me to become a subject for his photos,'€ said the 21-year-old, who studies architecture at Trisakti University in Jakarta.

After Instagram incorporated video sharing in 2013, young blogger and comedian Benazio '€œBenakribo'€ Rizki Putra and his seven friends created @indovidgram, which curates 15-second videos '€” ranging from music to makeup tutorials.

'€œWhen we first started, we had a lot of comedy videos. So we made a schedule, just like a television station,'€ said one of the founders, Vendryana.

Under the schedule, @indovidgram posts videos based on daily themes '€” from comedy, art videos, food, travel, music to community-themed one '€” to its 1 million followers.

Since it was first set up in 2010 and acquired by Facebook in 2012, Instagram has soared in popularity, with more than 300 million users worldwide, sharing more than 70 million photos and videos each day.

Teru Kuwayama, a member of Instagram'€™s community team and a former war photographer, said Instagram is not a photo-sharing platform '€” but a community.

While Indonesia'€™s total Instagram users remain undisclosed, he said the country has the most active participants of Instameet, with one in four photos coming from Indonesia.

'€œIt is an incredibly active community. Like, a lot of time you can see a sort of pattern: how many followers people have versus how much activity there is '€” the likes, comments and engagement. The Indonesian Instagram community seems to have a really high level of activity,'€ Kuwayama said.

Celebrities have also taken Instagram to their hearts, using the platform to get in touch with their fans or simply just to share their moments.

Among the popular personas are singer Raisa, @raisa6690, with 2.5 million followers, actress and television host Luna Maya, @lunamaya, with 2.3 million followers, and former first lady Ani Yudhoyono, @aniyudhoyono, with 1.5 million followers.

Singer Syahrini takes Indonesia'€™s Instagram by storm with her stunts through her account @princesssyahrini, where she shows off her luxury bags and posh trips across Europe and the US to her 2.6 million followers.

One video shows the sassy singer saying: '€œMaju mundur, cantik'€ (Step forward, step backward, still beautiful), as she is trying to strike a pose near the Eiffel Tower. The video went viral and inspired an Android game.

For some Instagram users, including Kuwayama, the social media platform creates a unique chance to take a peek at the daily lives of people in different countries.

'€œIran has an incredible number of really active photographers using Instagram. To me, as an American, it'€™s really fascinating. It is like I am seeing so much of a country I always want to go to, but I can'€™t.'€

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