Facebook buys Instagram photo sharing network for $1bn

[DVTimes]

Facebook has announced it is to buy Instagram - the popular photo-sharing smartphone app.

Facebook is paying $1bn (£629m) in cash and stock for the takeover.

Instagram was only launched in October 2010 - initially just for the iPhone before being offered as an Android app last week.

Facebook's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to continue to develop Instagram as a separate brand, allowing it to post to rival networks.

The app is free and allows users to apply 17 filters to the pictures they take - changing the colour balance to give the images a different feel - before they are uploaded.

It has proven hugely popular. The firm says that it has more than 30 million users uploading more than 5 million new pictures every day.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17658264

[candyflip]

I'm sure they'll roll this all into Facebook at some point, but I really like that they're sort of separate and hope they keep them that way.

[TheStout]

I'm sure they'll roll this all into Facebook at some point, but I really like that they're sort of separate and hope they keep them that way.

Zuckerberg said today he plans to run them separately and actually wants to build the Instagram brand as opposed to blend it with Facebook.

[Bladewire]

Zuckerberg said today he plans to run them separately and actually wants to build the Instagram brand as opposed to blend it with Facebook.

Yet Zuckerberg makes a huge public announcement that he's bought Instagram for $1bn and brags about it.

THE TRUTH: It's an "in your face" to other social networks and IPhone that now Facebook has access to images posted on their services with Instagram, including Facebooks facial recognition software. Your Big Brother is Zuckerberg

[Lykos]

WOW This is huge !

[bronco67]

So they need more options for everyone to waste time looking at baby pictures and drunk office parties?

[Fap]

smart purchase, biggest photo sharing site in the world buying a nice addition

[Supz]

[DateDoc]

VC wet dream!!!! Invest in a company that makes no money and sell it for $1 billion. Sequoia was just about to invest $50 million in Instagram giving them a $500 million valuation. Looks like they lost out. Facebook doubled that valuation and bought the whole thing!

http://allthingsd.com/20120406/sequo...for-instagram/

[$5 submissions]

Reminds me of GeoCities

[AdultRev]

Also shows that FB is not acquisition shy. A 1B buy is nothing to scoff at. More and more it seems like they're taking a google approach to business. It's still early for FB of course but this is an interesting move.

[pimpmaster9000]

Twitter uses instagram heavily

[Sarah_Jayne]

Instagram is just about the only social tool/app that I use just for my own fun. I guess I should have figured that eventually Facebook would try to snap it up. I can be sure I am going to be reading the next terms update on Instagram very carefully.

[scottybuzz]

1 billion? wtf?? how.

[Jakez]

What companies in history have grown from nothing to being worth $1 billion in such a short period of time like all this internet shit has?

[DamianJ]

What companies in history have grown from nothing to being worth $1 billion in such a short period of time like all this internet shit has?

Paulmarkhamteens.com