Instagram-type effects... what do you think?

Just started playing around with it on some of my favorite photos and it does spice things up... Is it a fad? Or an improvement IF used at the right time? Or is automatically assumed that you cant take a good photo and need to hide behind cross-processing effects to pretend you can take good photos.
I would love to post a couple of before/after examples for feedback but being a JONG this is only my 4th post... (is the 6 post rule still in effect?)
Interested to see your before and after examples of what you think is a "good" use of it vs. "bad" use.

This may put me at odds with some of the people here, but I think the Instagram effects can be cool when used in the right way.

I don't think what you do to the photo is going to make up for a compelling subject that's well composed, but they are an easy way to impart style into otherwise bland cell phone images. I think what we're seeing with super accessible camera technology is that you can't buy taste or vision, so what is going to set people apart in the future is actual talent, not just huge gear budgets.

The effect definitely has it's place. But for every f'ing photo I see on Facebook? It's a fad that will pass when the next App comes along which will probably be some horrific mutation of HDR (as if a lot of it isn't bad enough). Or whatever hipsters have deemed hip next so that all the individuals out there can do the same thing.