A budding artist has recently been thrust into the limelight all due to a single Instagram re-post by megastar Beyoncé.

A couple weeks ago, 20-year-old Baltimore artist, Briah Neale posted her painting of Beyoncé on her Instagram and it was re-posted by Beyoncé, which has since garnered immense attention towards Neale and her art work. The recognition which Neale has received by Beyoncé is something that she is humbled by and still in awe of.

“I was honored to have her recognize my artwork, I appreciate any and everyone who loves my artwork but it is amazing to have the person you created for to feel the same as well, sort of like an affirmation of a job well done. Beyoncé is very influential, not just in the music industry but in the world…right now it still hasn’t sunken it yet,” Neale said.

Neale has always dreamed of becoming an artist but she did not think that her dream would manifest so suddenly.

“I can remember being that kid in second when asked what I wanted to be saying an artist, or sitting on the curb at recess with my best friend drawing. I never wanted anything more; I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. However, I didn’t expect the recognition to come at all I never thought my art would have this affect. I just create because it’s what I love and I still would without any accolades or praise,” Neale said.

Neale has been painting in her animation style for about four years now and she first learned how to manipulate oil paints in the summer of 2009 during a portfolio building course taken at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

“The skills I learned there were traditional stylings but I have recently come into my own style, giving each of my pieces a sort of pop art feel,” Neale said.

The Beyoncé piece is 14 x 17″ and it is mixed media on a Bristol board. She used everything from a sharpie marker, to Speedball inks, acrylic paint, oil paints and gouache. She wanted it to be fun and playful like the image but she chose a more pastel palette because it seemed softer. Neale imagined Beyoncé being “very dainty, very feminine and I wanted to play on that.”

The enormous attention surrounding Neale and her work has become a whirlwind with her receiving countless emails, inquiries and comments through email Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram regarding the prints of the Beyoncé piece. She did not realize how many people saw the painting until requests started pouring in. She has heard from Singapore, Japan, France, Thailand, Australia, Canada, Germany, and London and all over the UK.

“Beyoncé has diehard fans who just want to feel like they have a piece of her and knowing she approves makes it that much more special,” Neale said.

Having such a strong demand for prints, Neale has decided to sell 99 exclusive prints that will be autographed for authenticity. She is building a website and will be releasing them and have her other artwork showcased at the top of this year.

“I chose to do 99 copies because to me the piece was special so I wanted it to be a rarity, a treasure. That much more exclusive knowing that only 99 in the world have been made and once they are gone they are gone. I will not do a reprint, each one of them will be number 1 of 99, 2 of 99 and so forth,” Neale said. She also plans to get the original piece sent to Beyoncé in the near future.

For Neale, having Instagram as the media outlet that got her noticed was a shock but it was not completely unexpected.

“I know the influence that social media has on my generation and the world as a whole in today’s society. I knew very well that it could be a gateway to get my artwork exposure, but I never imagine it would happen so quickly and on a scale of this magnitude,” Neale said.

She is grateful for the rise in recognition and as far as what it will do for the future it has definitely gotten her name out there and even better on a global platform.

“I am so excited for what is next for me, I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me, and I can’t wait to show the world my full potential.”

The article Briah Neale on the Rise: From Instagram to Stardom appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Klout has been in existence for about three years, but so far hasn’t reached the popularity of some social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, even though these ones are used inside of Klout’s program. It utilizes one number to measure a user’s influence across the amount of social networks that this user may be a member of.

As soon as you open a profile in Klout and connect all of your data through the personal social networks, one number called a Klout score will instantly pop up on the screen. The company explains this number as your influence of power across your network and it is calculated based on algorithms that are able to check the size of your network, the amount of content created and how the others are interacting with that content through sharing possibilities and likes, for instance.

The algorithm that is used to calculate the influence level of a user based on the ability to drive action on social networks is being constantly improved. The actual Klout website connects social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Tumblr, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Intagram, Blogger, LastFm, and Flickr and it is also trying to increase to include other ones.

The constant updates are also intended to show the user’s influence on the web. In the beginning it was possible to find metrics as True Reach, Amplification and Network Impact, but these scores have been removed to give space to Moments. According with the company’s explanation, this section will work as a report of the user’s activity from the past 90 days and how each activity has impacted a user’s Klout. This new feature is going to come in the next few weeks.

The Klout score has received attention mainly in the job recruiting processes. It came out that few companies had been hiring the candidates with higher “influence power” according to Klout, but the discussion has started to show that one number related to one’s virtual influence may not be a strong argument for such definitions.

Many candidates with work experience have been declined for companies that choose by Klout score. The job recruiters must give the right weight for such score, and a few professionals are actually saying that this weight should be zero. It is possible that one’s influence on social media could mean that a person actually doesn’t do so much besides posting and updating his or her social profiles.

Many companies have been discussing what the best way to use Klout score is. Airlines, the hospitality industry,  and big retailers are trying to develop one way to reach those with the best influence, and through this method drive actions through the social network. Offering special gifts, VIP areas, or cards to develop a premium experience for those with higher Klout scores can be on the plan for such companies, but so far, there aren’t any real public actions that correlate.

Many strongly divergent opinions have risen debating if Klout is good or bad. The best solution for the user is to be aware about the functionality and goals of the Klout score and how this can impact their security and privacy, and from the companies’ point of view, there are always chances to reach key people to increase influence.

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If you haven’t gone insane for Instagram yet, this list of top apps will surely drive you overboard. Reaching 5 million users in 8 months, according to 60secondsmarketer.com, Instagram is not showing any sign that they will not tap out of the fight for photosharing with a user base of roughly 7 million now.

From Justin Bieber sharing an image of LA traffic to Starbucks marketing and branding, Instagram is providing services that is helping with its growing popularity. Thenextweb.com supplies a list of features to try out on Instagram.

1.Inkstagram

Even though Instagram has no web interface, Inkstagram steps in and provides that to users. Divided into four tabs, the interface consists of popular images on Instagram, your photos, likes, and comments. With the ability to follow your friends, comment on their post, and find new friends, Inkstagram helps to keep your media socially connected.

2.Pictarine

Flickr, Facebook, Picasa, Twitter, and your own Instagram photos will be at your exposure with Pictarine. All in one instinct, Instagram images will be downloaded to a computer by installing this plugin.

3.ExtraGram

Like Inkstagram, ExtraGram encourages connections with others and allows you to follow other, view photos, and read feeds. It also provides extra to the user by showing popular tags through a Discover tab and highlight users.

4. Webstagram

Could your photo be considered the photo of the day? With Webstagram, you would be able to share the link with others, search for certain tags, view your own photos, and submit your photo to be the photo of the day on the site.

5. Gramfeed

People naturally take photos as they travel around the word. Gramfeed provides a feature that creates a map marker linked to where a photo was taken. It also gives you easy access to all Instagram’s features through its web interface.

6. Carousel

Instagram plus Carousel equals access to your photos on your desktop. With the same qualities of the other app such as connecting with others, making comments, and following users, Carousel also allows you to use your desktop and save your photos there as well.

7. Flipboard

Like Instagallery, Flipboard allows you to stay connect to all your Instagram photos on a larger iPad screen.

Besides the additional features listed above, Instagram allows you to involuntarily share your photos on Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter. A service, such as InstaFB, clearly allows the connection between Instagram and Facebook.

By adding your FB friends to a link of your new photos and creating Facebook album of new photos, InstaFB offers convenience and accessibility through automatic photos updates between the two programs. Gramjunction provides an attractive way to share photos between Instagram and Flickr. Instadrop gives Instagram users a solution to automatically save their photos by using Dropbox.

When meeting the requirements and using a few services, Workaround will allow you to share your Instagram images with your Google+ followers. Your computer will have to be on at all times, having the desktop app Picasa, Dropbox, and InstaDrop to effectively connect to Google+.

Can you easily find photographers on Instagram? Well with some special sites and iPad apps, your search could be easier. From a slideshow with Insta-Great to filtering your search through Heroku, there is a growing list of resources that puts emphasis on photography.

Instagallery allows you to view your photos in a larger view on your iPhone, iPad, and iPodTouch. You can get a view of art from all around the world with Cartagram that lets you view photos regarding their location. Niche websites for Instagram include InstaCat, for photos of cats only, InstaPuppy, for your puppy lovers, and InstaKitty, to view photos of more small furry companions.

If viewing photos on a website was not enough, whenever you’re Mac or Windows computer gets restless, you can view photos on your screensaver through Instarium. Screenstragram also shows Instagram photos on the screensaver of a Mac computer.

But you don’t have to keep your photos just between other Instagram users and yourself. By creating an online display of your Instagram photos for non-Instagram users through Instagrid, you can make sure everyone stays in the loop and see your photos.

Instawar and Pic-a-Fight provides a fun experience while browsing Instagram photos through games that allow the user to pair up comparable photos. Not only that but you would be able to create products and prints such as photobooth for events, photo stickers, photos on mug, t-shirts, postcards and magnets through other Instagram services like Instaprint, Instagoodies, Instamaker, Stickygram, Prinstagram, Postagram, Artflakes, and Keepsy to name a few.

Instagram is creating another world for photography. From using social media to making photo stickers, there is an array of services that make Instagram a leading contender in photo sharing.

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