Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Facebook to buy Instagram


Post contributed by Rachel Cade -

Mark Zuckerberg, of Facebook, posted on his timeline today “I’m excited to share the news that we’ve agreed to acquire Instagram and that there talented team will be joining Facebook.”

The press release talks about how Facebook is excited to improve their users photo sharing experiences. There is no clear indicator whether Instragram will remain independent or be absorbed into Facebook but with such a vibrant following already it will be excited to see where this merger will go.

Article:  Facebook to buy InstagramEngadget blog

BJB - I guess that Instagram joining the Google family might also explain the rush to make their app available on the Android platform (even without some key features) - see post below.

4 comments:

  1. On a personal note, Instagram recently became my new favorite social network. Why? Instagram is simple. You take pictures, filter them, upload them, and voila! Let the 'likes' (which are represented by a small heart icon) begin. It is much like Twitter in the way that each Instagram member follows and is followed by other members. The network is already closely-linked to Facebook and Twitter as you can upload your Instagram photos directly to both networks. So is it necessary for Facebook and Instagram to further interact? No. The beauty of Instagram is that it is simple. It is a social network revolved around photos and that's it. If Facebook buys out Instragram, Instagram is at risk of losing it's appeal; It will quickly become unnecessarily complex, as it will most-likely offer 'Instagram chat' and the 'Instagram news feed.' In essence, Instagram should continue on as an independent and simple social network, as this is what differentiates it from the rest.

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  2. I agree completely with Cori. This is definitely a "Next Big Thing," because of how unique, simple and fast it is. Instagram needs to stay independent. Facebook is already a monster of a social network. It literally can't be beat. But if you can post your Instagram pictures immediately to Facebook, what is the benefit to the company of selling the rights? I completely agree - Instagram will lose appeal and won't have the opportunity to grow as fast if Facebook buys them out.

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  3. I agree with both of you. The domination of Facebook is beginning to become a negative cloud hovering over them. The issue with technology is the need to constantly change. There is always an uproar every time Facebook updates and changes itself, usually making itself more complicated. Technology is supposed to make things easier and simpler. As Cori and Ashley said, that is the beauty of Instagram which has far dominated its app demographic since its conception. Facebook has already taken over browsers and websites integrating itself into every aspect of your life including hosting your personal photographs. I don't think they need to get involved with Instagram which will undoubtedly make it harder to tweet your Instagram photos, which is upsetting to me as someone who prefers Twitter to Facebook by far.

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  4. I just hope that Facebook keeps their word on having Instagram independently separate. The reason why I like Instagram is because it's fun, simple and easy to use.(Kind of like Facebook was when it first started out) Instagram allows us to be creative with our personal photos. Facebook needs to keep the formats completely separate too. I've been reading on various sites and Instagram users are paranoid that the new owners may ruin the social network by making it more like Facebook.

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