Facebook buys Instagram for $1 billion

Instagram's been in the news a fair bit lately. After much teasing of an Android application, the photo sharing service finally came over to the Google owned platform and even released an update. Now, Facebook has bought Instagram for $1 billion. Both, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook and Kevin Systrom, Founder and CEO of Instagram wrote in blog posts about their deal. Zuckerberg says that for years, Facebook has focused on photos to connect friends and families and now they'll be able to enhance that experience with "beautiful" mobile photos. Facebook has no plans to shut down Instagram as the company has done with previous startups they've acquired. Zuckerberg writes, "... 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."

Goes to Android, then to Facebook

Zuckerberg also writes that certain features in Instagram will not go away just because of its new owner. Features like sharing to Twitter and other rival networks will still be built in as well as the ability to not share to Facebook will stay. Users will also have the option to connect Instagram to Facebook to find people to follow which means connecting Facebook and Instagram will not be mandatory. Facebook says that they want to learn from Instagram's experience and bring that experience over to their own products. They also said they don't have plans for buying too many more products. Zuckerberg says, "This is an important milestone for Facebook because it's the first time we've ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don't plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together."

Kevin Systrom in his blog post says that with a company like Facebook, ideas will be shared to improve the services of both Instagram and Facebook. He emphasizes that Instagram will not go away. He says, "It’s important to be clear that Instagram is not going away. We’ll be working with Facebook to evolve Instagram and build the network. We’ll continue to add new features to the product and find new ways to create a better mobile photos experience." What do you think of the acquisition. Many Instagram fans are dismayed by it, are you one of them? Let us know in the comments section below.