Facebook Buys Instagram for $1Bn

[Jokester]

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-17658264

$1Bn

Hahahha *takes another breath* hahaha

Dotcom bubble 2 inbound!

 

[Jokester]

This will allow them to control the "mobile market" much better to be honest. Instagram has a lot of users, photo sharing and social media go hand in hand and its something (at least on the mobile platform) that Facebook have never fully got to grips with. Smart move, will be interesting to see how this plays out. $1 billion is a lot of wonga though...

The problem is, there is absolutely nothing to stop someone else producing an app that does exactly the same thing as Instagram.

 

[Jokester]

I think there's a difference. You can use something else instead of Instagram with Facebook/Twitter. As far as I'm aware nobody goes to Instagram directly to view content, so if you were using something else people could use that instead.

That's how I see it as well, it's being used as a photo uploader to Facebook for photos taken on a phone, ok it can do some post processing, but that's largely a gimmick.

The idea that Instagram is a social network is fairly laughable, it's no more a photo sharing site than flikr et al.

 

[Jokester]

Point still stands - while the idea can be copied you still need to attract the users... plenty of people will try - most (if not all) will fail. FWIW I wasn't comparing intagram to facebook but rather highlighting that simply being able to copy instagram isn't anything in itself.

They've bought a free app for $1bn. If it's 30million users were actively visiting the Instagram website then it may justify it's cost from advertising revenue - but I severely doubt that that is the case. People use it as a free image uploader direct to Facebook.

I just can't see how Instagram can be seriously considered a social site rather than a standard photo sharing site like Flikr.

 

[Jokester]

I thought people use it as easy way to make other people think they possess some kind of artistic value/flair.

The big "added via Instagram" or what ever it says is usually a massive give away

 

[Jokester]

The issue is that if it can get a user base large enough, it can then be leveraged to create a serious rival to facebook. This userbase is also technologically minded, all carrying smartphones.

Why is google+ not seriously rivalling twitter? The problem is that somehow you need the userbase to move together. Exactly what a rapidly growing app like instagram could allow.

This potential alone was damaging facebook's speculated $100bn IPO price, or so the theory goes.

I downloaded this app for my HTC last week. To be honest i thought the app sucked. Upload a picture , choose 1 of 17 filters (optional) and an upload to Facebook option. Facebook must have seen something i haven't seen.

And this is why the whole social network argument goes out the window. Instagram users just aren't using it in that manner, they're using it as a simple tool. As I said Dotcom bubble MkII.

 

[Jokester]

The difference between this "Dot-com Bubble" and the last one is that, back then, the population of the Internet was comparatively tiny. Now, everyone is on the Internet.

Web services like Instagram can be worth hundreds of millions almost overnight simply because of the sheer number of quality visitors they get. Advertising.

The company valuations are based on the same thing though, potential for future revenues.

Market analysts here in the US are saying the buyout bears the hallmarks of a bubble now and that Facebook won't make the money back.

The whole following people who aren't your (Facebook) friend to look at their photos thing? That's very niche along the lines of Myspace.

 

[Jokester]

This was a strategical acquisition aimed at removing a possible future competitor.

So they will be out every free app that could potentially become a future competitor?

Why not buy out Pinterest, it does exactly what Instagram might have become, but is actually doing it now and is considered the 3rd largest social network behind Facebook and Twitter.

They've missed the boat competitor wise - this has panic buy all over it.