Facebook Acquires Photoshare Site Instagram For $1 Billion – Tech Tuesday

In the world of social media, Facebook reigns supreme.  On Monday they announced that like The Borg, they would be assimilating Instagram into their system.  Resistance is futile.

I'm stepping in this week, while Big Rich enjoys some much needed downtime, and bringing you some big tech news.  On Monday, Facebook made the largest deal in their brief history when they paid one billion dollars to acquire the photosharing site Instagram.

The question that immediately came up by everyone, why would facebook do this?  According to the Washington Post, it's in an effort by Facebook, to draw in people who use tablets and smartphones who aren't on the social network yet.  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that it's the first time they have acquired a company with so many users.  He also added that they likely won't be doing that again.

One advantage to Facebook becoming one with Instagram is that they can now direct people to stay on their page, rather than having to go to Instagram to view the photo.  It's an all around win for Facebook, and obviously the Instagram people have to be pretty happy with their new fortune.  The downside for users is that Facebook will now have some control over their photos, which prompted some subscribers to say they would close down their accounts.

Don't fret Instagramers, because Zuckerberg stated that users will still have access to upload their photos using both twitter and tumbler.  They also said that the deal between the two in different, and Instgram will be more of an independent offshoot of Facebook.

[Via Washington Post]