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OMG: How Will Google+ Copy This? Facebook buying Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock

by sbucciarel Banned
41 replies
Facebook buying Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock

I just found out about Instagram and have been debating whether or not to download it since they created a version for Android and now Facebook is buying it.

Facebook has agreed to buy the hugely popular photo-sharing app maker Instagram for about $1 billion in cash and stock in a blockbuster deal reverberating around Silicon Valley.

It's about the only thing that could top Justin Bieber on Instagram.

Facebook's chief executive and founder made the announcement Monday on Facebook in a post that has already generated tens of thousands of likes. He has pledged to allow Instagram to remain independent.

"For years, we've focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we'll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests," Mark Zuckerberg wrote. "We believe these are different experiences that complement each other.
Facebook Instagram $1 billion - latimes.com
#billion #buying #cash #copy #facebook #google #instagram #omg #stock
  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
    Banned
    Google's reaction to the news:

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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
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      Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

      Google's reaction to the news:
      lol .... I'm sure they're not too thrilled about it. Instagram is allegedly wildly popular. Still haven't decided whether or not to download it, as I don't really do much photo sharing.
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      • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
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        Originally Posted by dracoboar View Post

        I keep telling people google will be at best an afterhtought in im in 5 years but noone beleives me
        Will they keep growing at the rate they are and hold such large control of their market in 5 years? I highly doubt it. To say that they would be lucky to be an afterthought is a bit foolish though, hence the lack of public support for your statement.

        Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

        lol .... I'm sure they're not too thrilled about it. Instagram is allegedly wildly popular. Still haven't decided whether or not to download it, as I don't really do much photo sharing.
        I couldn't tell you about it's popularity lol. Instagram, Flickr, Photobucket, they all blend together for me. But it did sell for $1 Billion, so I guess it's doing something right.
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        • Profile picture of the author dracoboar
          Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

          Will they keep growing at the rate they are and hold such large control of their market in 5 years? I highly doubt it. To say that they would be lucky to be an afterthought is a bit foolish though, hence the lack of public support for your statement.



          I couldn't tell you about it's popularity lol. Instagram, Flickr, Photobucket, they all blend together for me. But it did sell for $1 Billion, so I guess it's doing something right.

          Actualy no I doubt seriously they will continue to grow. If FB were to offer a quality search engine tomorrow advertisers would flock there in a heartbeat. Secodnly I said an afterthought to IM'S many of whom already forget seo and simply use social media to drive traffic.

          I have no idea how you measure lack of public support in this thread as you are the only one that has criticized my statement
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    • Profile picture of the author JSProjects
      Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

      Google's reaction to the news:
      LOL. Looks about right.
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  • Profile picture of the author dracoboar
    I keep telling people google will be at best an afterhtought in im in 5 years but noone beleives me
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    • Profile picture of the author Legit SEO
      Originally Posted by dracoboar View Post

      I keep telling people google will be at best an afterhtought in im in 5 years but noone beleives me
      Wouldn't doubt it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tadresources
    Now the only thing FB has left to do is figure out how to ruin it.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
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      Originally Posted by Tadresources View Post

      Now the only thing FB has left to do is figure out how to ruin it.
      Well, the article said that it was going to develop and maintain Instagram as an independent entity and only use some of the technology for Facebook mobile photo sharing, but that Instagram will remain the same for all the users.
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  • Profile picture of the author drewsg
    Once Facebook jumps into search, Google will be on the ropes
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  • Profile picture of the author LMC
    probably one of the most absurd valuations...
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  • Profile picture of the author Lightlysalted
    Its; funny how quickly things change. First there was Apple who created the original windows operating system and put them on top. Then Bill Gates patented the system and set up Microsoft which has been a globally dominant force for decades and left Apple a little red faced. Then along comes the upstart Google who have quickly become the biggest force in internet technology, services and content. Then Apple fights back developing the Iphone and Ipad. And now we see Facebook beginning to flex it's muscles.... Go facebook, but it'll all change again in 5 years......
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  • Profile picture of the author Onora Oz
    Facebook and Instagram, that's perfect match if you ask me.

    Here's the Forbes interview with Instagram's CEO:

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  • Profile picture of the author xxxJamesxxx
    Never even heard of it before...

    James Scholes
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  • Profile picture of the author JimDucharme
    A billion...and here I thought instagram couldn't be worth more than a thousand words.

    Regards,
    jim
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  • Profile picture of the author ChadOath
    The instagram integration for Facebook photos is already very popular. I think Facebook is trying make itself the default destination for Instagram photos. Right now, Twitter obviously leads in that department.
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  • Profile picture of the author Long Beach Nathan
    Wow!

    I think I see the logic in this. Instagram is insanely popular on Twitter. It makes sense for Facebook to want control of it (not to say it doesn't integrate well with FB as well, though).
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  • Profile picture of the author taylormarek
    I'd say Google is stuck in another interesting spot once again. +1 Facebook.
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Clark
    Sorry, can someone explain to me why Google would be p*ssed at this?
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
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      Originally Posted by Daniel Clark View Post

      Sorry, can someone explain to me why Google would be p*ssed at this?
      Google Plus was nearly a clone of Facebook when they opened with just a couple little things thrown in to differentiate it. I took a screenshot of my Google + account that I never use and my Facebook acct and if I blotted out the logo, I would hardly have been able to tell the difference.

      Google+ had hoped to be as wildly popular as Facebook, but I seriously doubt that will happen and now with adding Instagram, which has millions of it's own users and integrating that mobile photo technology into Facebook, it's just another leg up that Facebook has over Google +.

      Short answer: Google+ hates Facebook. :p
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    • Profile picture of the author dracoboar
      Originally Posted by Daniel Clark View Post

      Sorry, can someone explain to me why Google would be p*ssed at this?
      Google is smart enough to know that facebook is a bigger threat than bing and yahoo combined. Google needs people usings it social element to stay relevant and prosper long term. Now add twitter and whatever comes next and the hole just keeps getting deeper.

      If things keep going the way they are going google will be known as the company that owns youtube..
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hlatky
    Know what's cool? One BILLION.
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Clark
    Ahh right thanks, understood.
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  • Profile picture of the author IMHunter
    A billion dollars. WOW That is a great price for a company which is just 3 years old.
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  • Profile picture of the author smileverse
    However, facebook is not going to integrate the instagram soon. As they stated in their posting, they are going to test it Individually (instagram is going to be how it is right now until their testing process completes).
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    I wonder if this will be Facebooks "broadcast.com"
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  • Profile picture of the author bchez
    There are some very interesting perspectives on this over at, ironically, G+

    https://plus.google.com/u/0/11447689...ts/WMJEDQRRa1G

    https://plus.google.com/u/0/11206394...ts/GF1Y68TUa3f

    https://plus.google.com/u/0/10685565...ts/8gv7S1TLLcX
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  • Profile picture of the author cashtree
    Does anyone really care about instagram? Either way Google won't have any problem replicating the little bit of value that this company adds to the mix, assuming Facebook integrates them. Google has far more capital than facebook and not to mention some of the best engineers in the world, facebook has a website...and they only made about a billion in net last year. If history tells us anything (myspace, friendster, bebo, and the rest) facebooks popularity shelf life won't be that long anyway, unless they start expanding and offering more than a user profile.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
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      Originally Posted by John Romaine View Post

      I wonder if this will be Facebooks "broadcast.com"
      I was wondering exactly the same thing :p

      Originally Posted by bchez View Post

      Yeah ... funny articles. I read one where iPhone users were all up in arms that Android would now be joining them. Apparently they consider Android users to be low life and don't want them playing in their playground. lol. What a bunch of snobs.

      That's the reason I didn't download Instagram. I read that first and thought ... geeesh. This is really a childish bunch of crap. A quote from one of those articles above from MySpace Tom:

      When Instagram opened to Android a few days ago, there were was quite a bit of talk from iPhone users who now felt like their exclusive social club was over. "Now we're going to have to see what poor people eat for lunch," was the famous Tweet from an idiotic iPhone user.
      Originally Posted by cashtree View Post

      Does anyone really care about instagram? Either way Google won't have any problem replicating the little bit of value that this company adds to the mix, assuming Facebook integrates them. Google has far more capital than facebook and not to mention some of the best engineers in the world, facebook has a website...and they only made about a billion in net last year. If history tells us anything (myspace, friendster, bebo, and the rest) facebooks popularity shelf life won't be that long anyway, unless they start expanding and offering more than a user profile.
      Google has some of the biggest failures in the world as well. Their engineers are nothing but copiers rather than innovators when it comes to social networking. They aren't good at "social" and they'll never meet the level of social success that Facebook has.

      When it comes to shelf-life, the same can be said about Google. History shows that when a new search engine comes along, people will ditch one in a heartbeat and jump on board and Google irritates enough people daily that it could easily become the next Yahoo.
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  • Profile picture of the author GeraldNitram
    I'm still waiting for Google's move on this. Right now, I think that table flip reaction would be the best guess. But then again, why would Google react violently against this acquisition?
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
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    This is Myspace Tom's reaction to it and he has some pretty good points. Thanks @bchez for posting it

    https://plus.google.com/u/0/11206394...ts/GF1Y68TUa3f
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  • Profile picture of the author lukedidit
    Its getting very interesting the facebook vs google fight.

    I would not be suprised if we see bing and facebook team up. People will then have both search and social combined on one page, smartphone app.

    I also think Google will eventually be another AOL.
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  • Profile picture of the author BIG Mike
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
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      Originally Posted by BIG Mike View Post

      On the other hand, Google has been tinkering with social media integration for years - SideWiki, Buzz, etc., come to mind, elements of which I see in G+. They have Picassa, which they hung onto and tied into G+ as well. While some of you may view these as epic failures, trust me, they served Google's purpose. And don't forget that Google also owns YouTube.

      I'm not suggesting that FB can't do it, but that purchase of IG raised my eyebrows. Sure, FB has the cash on hand, but I can think of far better ways to spend it....unless I was really interested in grabbing up and coming competitors, which in turn leads me to believe they're staying focused on social media instead of search.
      ^^^^
      The above, according to Myspace Tom, who I've always considered such a dweeb, but it's an enlightening article. He believes that Instagram was a real and looming threat to Facebook and gobbling them up and making them yours was exactly why they purchased them. Google also tried to purchase them, but Instagram wasn't having any of it until Facebook offered 1 Billion.
      https://plus.google.com/u/0/11206394...ts/GF1Y68TUa3f

      I really don't think Facebook has any interest in being a search engine and I also think that Google should stick to search engine/advertising because they do truly suck at social, but that's just my opinion.
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  • Profile picture of the author jolarry
    Really impressive the way of Instagram! I never thought about a success story with this application ...
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    • Profile picture of the author yinkira
      Originally Posted by jolarry View Post

      I never thought about a success story with this application ...
      lol...me too
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  • Profile picture of the author Paleochora
    I was getting worried because Instagram had flown right under my radar too.

    So I just Googled it (which in light of this thread is amusing in itself) and found out it is for people with Apple iPhones.

    So, fellow adults, don't sweat that something has happened that you need care about.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
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      Originally Posted by Paleochora View Post

      I was getting worried because Instagram had flown right under my radar too.

      So I just Googled it (which in light of this thread is amusing in itself) and found out it is for people with Apple iPhones.

      So, fellow adults, don't sweat that something has happened that you need care about.
      No ... it was an iPhone app. It just opened up to Android and that was big news and then all of a sudden the Facebook deal, which is even bigger news.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Franklin
    I didn't even know about Instagram until this post. After checking it out, I must say that it's pretty cool...

    It's like stripping FaceBook of the annoying parts and just leaving the cool parts in!...*sigh* I just hope FaceBook leaves it alone.
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  • Profile picture of the author TorremochaJ
    Instagram has more than 1 million users and this apps is very useful in facebook yet facebook were not the first to recognize this idea were not able to realize how important this idea to their existing application. So buying it is no brainer for them and one billion dollars is just only a coin compared to what the effect the instagram will bring to the facebook users.
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    • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
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      Originally Posted by TorremochaJ View Post

      Instagram has more than 1 million users and this apps is very useful in facebook yet facebook were not the first to recognize this idea were not able to realize how important this idea to their existing application. So buying it is no brainer for them and one billion dollars is just only a coin compared to what the effect the instagram will bring to the facebook users.
      How's that sig file working out for ya? :rolleyes:
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      • Profile picture of the author Kal Sallam
        Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

        How's that sig file working out for ya? :rolleyes:
        Well at least he got one!:p
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