[Sly Fox]

I really should have learned to code ...

Why Facebook plunked down $1 billion to buy Instagram
Facebook's Instagram photo power play has several strategic and tactical benefits.

by Rafe Needleman April 9, 2012 12:15 PM PDT

Facebook, the largest photo sharing site (and social network), announced today that it's buying Instagram, the wildly popular mobile photo sharing app for smartphones. Quick analysis pegs this as a very strong tactical and strategic move for Facebook.
The key win for Facebook here is mobile engagement. Instagram has rocketed to 30 million users in under two years. Facebook has had a mobile app for years but it doesn't have the user love that Instagram does. By acquiring the best-of-breed mobile app -- at least in terms of audience development -- Facebook both takes out a future competitor and grows its mobile presence.

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[Hold My Own]

Unreal. Instagram is a brilliant/beautiful app but where is the revenue model? I think they will have to build out a web portal and get ad revenue, I honestly cant think of where the valuation of a billion is coming from. I think Instagram will have the same revenue issues Twitter has faced.

I'm honestly shocked by this. Good for them.

[Sly Fox]

I don't believe it will remain as a standalone. I'll bet they push the Instagram community inside the Facebook house.

This is the cost of doing business if you want to maintain your stanglehold on social media.

For the record, what was the last creative thing that Facebook has done? All they have done lately is buy competitors and either close them down (i.e. Gowalla) or fold them in.

[Hold My Own]

Zuck blogged that they are committed to keeping the relationships with their current social media competitors and that this was a big draw for the purchase. I found that very interesting that they would continue sending people to Twitter and other sites.

[NotAJerry]

Just as Instagram makes it to Android, here comes FB to do everything in their power to ruin it.

[Rooster Cogburn]

Roosters dictionary defines instragram:

Instagram: an app for your phone that takes brilliant, colorful photographs and washes them out, shrinks them, destroys the resolution, puts goofy effects on them, and puts crappy graphics around them.

[thepostman]

I don't get Instagram. Never have and never will, but it is used by so many people so smart move by facebook imo.

[Sly Fox]

Bumped due to the ruckus all over the interwebs today about the newly announced changes.

[Sly Fox]

Instagram's Kevin Systrom responds to the uproar.