I opened Instagram the other day and there was a list of suggested accounts to follow at the top of the app. The first account listed was the official Instagram account.

That just seemed odd to me.

A case can be made that the account is an important follow. That it connects users to important news, new features and service-related announcements. But I wouldn’t make that case. I’m not even sure the account should show up on the suggested follow list at all, let alone at the top of it.

Suggested follows are an easy way to showcase the best and most diverse of your community. Ideally, it’s a mix of names people might know and names they won’t, but who are using your platform in a wonderful way. You mix them with data, lay it over the social graph and personalization goes to work.

The thing is, the Instagram list was actually pretty well tailored. It seemed like many of the names I viewed were Facebook friends I hadn’t followed on Instagram. But having Instagram at the top of that list just didn’t seem like the best way to use it.

When you have areas where you spotlight your community – award programs, suggested people, featured content – the spotlight should point away from you.