People these days love sharing almost everything that happens in their lives – from the food they eat, the places they visit, the people they are with…the list goes on.  This probably stems from people’s constant need for attention, be negative or positive, just as long as there’s an audience.  And this is the reason why photo sharing apps and services are booming in the mobile realm.

As more people use these apps, the development teams behind popular apps like Instagram need to update these services to keep up with demand, fix bugs, make room for more photos and members, and also make sure that the service is easy and fun to use.

But as more updates and changes are applied to these apps, sometimes things get cluttered and ugly.  Much like the case of SmugMug, the paid digital photo sharing service, who unveiled a new site design just this morning.

“Over time,” explained the chief of SmugMug, Don MacAskill, “SmugMug became a lot less beautiful,” as buttons, links and other elements cluttered the screen.

The new Smugmug now features “Choose a New Site Design,” which lets you customize your page with 24 designs.  If you get tired of the theme, you can easily change it when you feel like it.  Aside from that, you can name your own site to make it more personalized.

Take customization a step further by adjusting the top, bottom or side margins of the Web page, add or move buttons, headings, maps of where the photos were taken, and place them where you think it’s more accessible for visitors, choose a background photo, place comment box and link to your Facebook or Twitter accounts.  There are a lot of ways to tweak your SmugMug page, but it may take some time for you to get the hang of it.

Also, though the thought of having your own web page to showcase all your photos, the service costs $40 a year, but you can’t sell your photos.  If you want to make money off of it, you have to pay $300 a year.  The good thing is, whatever plan you choose, you’ll have unlimited storage.

Instagram

If app developers are doing the best they can to make their apps available to more people, it seems like Facebook and Instagram have turned a bit elitist.

Instagram is not available for Windows Phone devices, so users of such devices have to rely on third-party apps to post photos.  The only problem is, these apps aren’t official.  Instagram has been updated and now it’s deleting photos uploaded from these unofficial third-party apps.

Daniel Gary, developer of Instance, an unofficial Windows Phone app that allows you to upload photos to Instagram, noticed that photos being uploaded to Instagram using his app were quickly being deleted.

Some thought it was just a bug but Gary theorized that Instagram was behind this. Instagram was quick to address the issue stating that “We recently made an update to the systems that we use to fight spam to help prevent future attacks and increase security,” and added that the “update does not specifically target any particular app or platform.”

It seems like Instagram’s plan of kicking third-party apps was foiled as Instance users now reports successful photo uploads.

Vine

Earlier in July, Vine updated its Android app with new features such as revining, channels, and an improved camera.

Revining, is similar to retweeting, it allows you to repost Vine videos from other users.  It was first introduced in the iOS version along with the improved camera.  The camera has been improved with new focus, grid, and ghost tools and the ability to mute the sound while watching has been added.

So what does the Android version has on the iOS version?  There’s a new Vine camera widget that appears on your home screen so you can easily access your Vine camera.  With the new widget, you never have to miss any unforgettable moments.