Recently, at ScanMyPhotos.com, we surveyed our customers to gain insight into their reasons for converting their traditional photographs into digital images. We expected most customers to be driven to protect family history and salvage worn-out photo albums from aging. Surprisingly, 45 percent of our recent patrons expressed that the hashtag phenomenon, #ThrowbackThursday (#tbt), motivated them.
If you follow social media sites, particularly Instagram, where #tbt began in 2011, you have likely observed the laughs and amusement accompanying this craze each Thursday.
Spending abundant time browsing #tbt pictures at the office prompted us to suggest ways to get the most out of your #ThrowbackThursday posts. Thus, we present the following ten considerations.
Ready, set, throwback! It’s #TBT; it’s time to dig up old photos. Get ready to relive questionable fashion choices and cringe-worthy hairstyles. We don’t think you should blame us for this when your friends start tagging you in embarrassing pics from your awkward phase. Happy throwin’!#throwbackthrusday
1. Nothing beats 80’s hair – It was the era of the hair band for a reason: 80’s hairdos were totally tubular! Whether you were moussing a teen-angst Mohawk or straightening a mid-life mullet, share the hair man!
We crafted this open-access article with care for you to relish and share. Let’s spread the knowledge! #EnjoyReading #ShareTheLink
2. Throwback FAILS – Often, the most belly-laughing and nostalgic pictures we have are of life’s less-than-stellar moments, and they make the best #tbt fodder out there, so share the wipeouts and dumb ideas that made for lasting memories.
3. It’s not all self-deprecating fun—While the lowlights make us laugh, life’s highlights can make us cry, which makes graduations, birthdays, and first steps some of the most sighed-over #tbt posts every week.
4. Hit the kids where it will hurt – Whether sharing #tbtpictures on Instagram, Facebook or any other social media site, your kids (and more importantly, their friends) will be watching; so take this weekly opportunity to embarrass the heck out of them with sailor outfits, cute hugging siblings or, for advanced users, the kids with their own hairpocalypse.
5. Be the bomb! Back in the day, everyone thought they were the bomb. Chances are the truth lies somewhere on the opposite side of the spectrum, but the photos can’t lie. Throw your Thursday back to the crowning accomplishment of your young life. Who knows, maybe in retrospect, you were cooler than you think.
6. Life’s firsts—A first car, a first wedding, a first anniversary…our first experiences with life’s peaks and valleys are always memorable and ring true with a sense of nostalgia that our social media community can directly identify with, whether the pictures make them laugh or cry.
7. Family portrait day – Back in the day, family group photos were an annual family torment day that lasted forever once the portrait was mounted in the den; well, styles have changed, rendering those birch-forested backdrops a #tbt viral smash.
8. Time travel – Sometimes the world changes drastically over time, sometimes not at all, and #tbt is a perfect opportunity to take stock in those changes; so share those images of your travel, whether it’s the disappearing Vegas heyday or the still timeless art deco explosion of South Beach
9. Holiday cheer – Christmas sweaters and Halloween costumes grow more exquisite with age, so whether you were a childhood Fanzi or thought sweaters should have reindeer all year, you qualify for the holiday fanatic #tbt meme.
10. A bygone era – Progress is a powerful thing; after all, it’s what brought us to an age of #ThrowbackThursdays, but let us not forget the trends and innovations that brought us here; make sure to throwback to mobile phones that required shoulder straps, eight tracks, and boom boxes.
BONUS: Remember those who passed – What better way to remember those who are no longer with us? Post favorite moments or forgotten memories such as the picture above of my Mom and me on what I can only imagine is my third birthday or perhaps Christmas just after I turned three. I don’t remember this moment, but I came across it while looking for a photo to share on #TBT. It brings a lot of emotions out since my Mom never got to see my son and daughter, and it makes me cherish the little moments like this one. Right now, my son is about the same age as I am in that picture, and I see so much of him.
