Facebook Buys Instagram for $1 Billion

Facebook buys Instagram

So the biggest news yesterday and probably for the next couple of days was how Facebook buys Instagram for a whopping $1 Billion. This by far is the most expensive acquisition Facebook has ever made (Drop.io $10 million, ConnectU $31 million, FriendFeed $47.5 million, Snaptu $70 million).

Why would Facebook buy a photo-sharing service like Instagram and why would they spend that much money? Because of Instagram’s huge success in the mobile photo-sharing market and because of its huge following – more than 27 Million iPhone users and more than 1 Million Android users (1 Million downloads in the first 12 hours of release) that have just recently started using the app/service.

The move was met mostly with negative reactions from Instagram users. Others were worried about how their privacy (location-tagged photos) would be affected by the acquisition, while some were wary that Instagram would face the same fate as other companies – Gowalla, Beluga and Snaptu, who were all shut down after being acquired by Facebook. Some users even threatened or actually deleted their Instagram accounts as soon as news of the acquisition was announced. Mashable as well as other notable sites even provided users some tips on how to delete Instagram accounts and save their photos.

I’m not sure about the privacy issue but regarding Instagram being shut down, I don’t its gonna happen. In his own note about the acquisition, Mark Zuckerberg talks about how Instagram would continue to operate independently:

We believe these are different experiences that complement each other. But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.

That’s why we’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.

As an Instagram user, I don’t mind the acquisition as long as Instagram stays alive. As a Facebook user, I’m thrilled with this development because one of my favorite apps/services will be now directly or indirectly integrated with Facebook and Timeline.

How about you guys, what do you think how Facebook buys Instagram for $1 Billion? What are your concerns regarding this acquisition? Do you think it was well worth the $1 Billion? For Instagram users, are you guys gonna stay or leave? Please share your thoughts.

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