Here is why Facebook bought Instagram

[MindMover]

You might have heard by now that Facebook has acquired Instagram for nearly a billion dollars in cash. Incredible, isn’t it? I have received text messages of awe and shock from many people in the Valley, for no one saw this coming.

A few days ago it was rumored to be valued at $500 million. A few months ago it was $300 million. Its last round — just a year ago – valued the company at $100 million. The rising valuation of the company was reflective of the growing audience it has been garnering, despite being just on the iPhone. It had reached nearly 30 million registered users before it launched an Android app, a turbo-charging event for the company.

So the question is: Why did Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s level-headed but mercenary founder, buy Instagram at twice the valuation that professional venture investors were putting on it? The answer is found in Zuckerberg’s own blog post:

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.

http://gigaom.com/2012/04/09/here-is-why-did-facebook-bought-instagram/

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[Speck Tater]

1. Never used Facebook. Never even heard of Instagram.

I guess money is truly becoming worthless. It used to be that money represented human labor and tangible assets, things of actual value. Now a billion dollars is thrown away on nothing; bits; ephemeral fads that will vanish in a puff a smoke when the next, bigger fad comes along.

We must be in the final days of careless extravagance before the collapse of civilization. Nothing else can possibly explain this.

[mike_c]

2. +1

Boggles, doesn't it?

[customerserviceguy]

6. They figure they're going to start charging for it at some point

They'll find out just how fast people will flee it for the next free thing.

[monmouth]

3. I'm going to +1 this also. At first I thought it was because I was older that this appears so

insane, but am gratified to realize younger than me also see this folly. Pretty sad really.

[Speck Tater]

4. Older? I probably have grandchildren older than you. hehe nt

[Odin2005]

5. I bet you want us kids to get off your lawn, too!

[alcibiades_mystery]

8. "money represented human labor and tangible assets"

So old economy.

Now money represents the potential for capturing the whole of human social social life. Hell, shit was easy when it only represented labor. Now it represents the labor of your everyday interactions with others, the labor of your fantasies, the labor of your friendships, your loves, your desires.

Hell, y'all had it easy when all you had to do was argue for wages. We have to argue for our very consciousness at any moment of the day or night, while knowing that they also own our very arguments and capacity to argue.

[Speck Tater]

9. In the final analysis, the human animal

needs food and shelter. These are tangible goods produced by human labor. Any economy that is producing nothing, but only consuming, is either living off its savings, going into debt, or living as parasites on the backs of others.

We in America are doing all three. There is no way within the constraints of the laws of thermodynamics that this economy of "monetizing" web sites, facebook pages and money for nothing on the Internet can sustain itself much longer. It must crash because it is extractive, not productive. As a culture, as a civilization, we are busily sawing off the very limb that supports us, and still we will act surprised and disbelieving when that limb goes crashing to the ground with us still on it.

[madrchsod]

7. wisconsin`s revolution greatest tool is facebook

most if not all unions are using facebook and tweeter to get their message out to their members. my wife and i run her unions political facebook page and we have "likes" and comments from unions around the country

i`ve never seen isntagram but it`s going to be a great edition to facebook