New iPhone app “Steller Stories” rivals popular Instagram

By JAMIE NEWMAN

Steller Stories is a new, free iPhone application that allows users to create visual storybooks using photos, videos and personal notes.

With this app, anyone can create a beautiful, interactive story for followers, and for oneself. Steller Stories offers a lovely way to commemorate a special moment in one’s life.

While Instagram gives an unlimited amount of space for a caption (and hashtags), Steller Stories offers users a full page of text, or putting text on a picture to describe what is happening and what makes a particular moment or place special.

Steller Stories combines features of Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr by giving options of having a long storybook, creating storyboards or republishing another person’s story.

Navigating this app is not complicated. Similar to Instagram, Steller Stories has a user feed, called “Storylines.”

For one’s own personal stories, or the stories from other authors that have been republished, there is a “Collections” tab.

Creating a story is simple, too. And a storybook, whether it is three pages, or thirty, can be based around a moment or a day or a vacation. It can be really about anything.

Professional photographers, authors and artists have started using this app to share more of their work in a condensed, minimalistic portfolio.

One user of Steller Stories, Kristy Carlson, created a storybook about her visit to the island off the coast of Tanzania, Zanzibar.

She represents this small but rich culture in thirty-one slides. Steller Stories gave this author a new way to share her experience in Zanzibar, and with more depth.

Like many artistic and interactive apps, Steller Stories allows for creativity and inspiration.

Sometimes inspiration can be hard to find, especially for any artist craving it, depending on what is going on in one’s life. Steller Stories offers a fast, simple and elegant way of sharing creative works with friends and strangers.

This app can connect fellow writers, photographers, videographers and artists.

Social media sites like this can be helpful in advertising one’s own work.

It helps connect people and it can enable artists, of all forms, media and styles, to keep up with what inspires people and keeps them connected to the world of art.

While Steller Stories is more interactive than Instagram because one has the option of republishing stories, finding “friends” to follow is difficult. Under the “Discover” tab on the app, there is an option to find friends via Facebook or Twitter, but unlike other social media sites, one cannot search for friends.

Another flaw in this app is one does not have the ability to edit their profile pictures or biography. Once it is there, it is there. So be sure you are satisfied with your first choice.

Steller Stories is a fantastic way to share your story and discover other people’s stories. After downloading the app, it quickly becomes a new addiction.