Below is a link to an article about Facebook's recent acquisition of Instagram:
http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog/will-hipster-photo-app-instagram-survive-facebook-690373
This article discusses how Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion. Instagram is a photo sharing website with a built-in social network. The article questions how long Facebook and Instagram will coexist independently before Instagram goes away and becomes a feature of Facebook. It also comments on how some people don't like how the purchase will make Instagram mainstream and everyone will have it soon. Let us know what you think about the points and questions raised in this article.
The theme of our class is pop culture, and this is a fine example of pop culture. Just like with everything in life, the entire society is hopping on the "same train" and following what everyone else does. I have a feeling that half of the people that bought the instagram app for the android system on the day that is was released was not aware of what the program was and downloaded it simply off the fact that their friends had it. Although people may be mad about this new wave of followers, I believe it will be able to coexist with Facebook for awhile before they become one. Take Twitter and Facebook for example. Both are huge within today's pop culture and both coexist nicely. People balance both social networks, helping the existence of both.
ReplyDeleteThe following response was to prompt #2.
DeletePrompt 2.
ReplyDeleteWhile I understand many people's dismay at the fact that Facebook has bought instagram and the android now has it, does it really matter? I mean it is just a photo enhancing and sharing app. Why are iphone users so concerned at the fact that other systems now can use it. What if long distant family members want to share photos but can't because they have different systems? Also, on the Facebook end of things, it is hard to tell if instagram will really stay independent. While I personally do not think it is a big issue, I also think it's only natural for them to converge. There once was a site, picnik.com, that was an image editing website, but then Google bought it. Picnik lasted for a while but now Google has shut it down and just moved it's features to their Google chrome. I think something similar will happen with instagram. But it is not necessarily a bad thing.
Prompt 2.
ReplyDeleteWas Instagram really a "hipster photo app" in the first place? If part of Instagram is just another social networking site where you can share pictures, I don't really see it being any different than Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr. On each of those sites, you can share photos and follow people. Although Twitter is not a part of Facebook, it's still possible to "Tweet" things on Facebook via Twitter- much to the annoyance of others. If the change is made to integrate the Instagram community into Facebook, I'm sure people will complain at first, but they'll get used to it and accept the changes in the long run. From the photo-editing side of it, if Facebook doesn't offer the photo editing, there are hundreds of apps that offer the same editing that Instagram does. Apps such as Aviary.
With Facebook dominating all social networking sites, it doesn't surprise me at all that they bought out Instagram. It seems as if any upcoming social networking sites will have to compete with Facebook and more than likely lose the battle and eventually be bought out. But is that such a bad thing? The goal of all of these sites is to become popular and integrated into society. Would it be such a bad thing to be bought out by Facebook and become part of the most dominating social site of our time? I don't believe so, and even if Instagram dies out on Facebook, the fact that it made itself to that level is an accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteInstagram being bought out by Facebook did not surprise me i the least bit. As soon as Instagram involved itself with the twitter world the time would come when facebook would buy it out so they too could integrate the same technology into their social networking site. This seems to me like a case of competition between the main social networking sites and also seems to be something that will continue with the development of new or improved ways of sharing over the internet.
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ReplyDeleteI do not think it is a big deal if instagram dies out because facebook overtakes it. I also do not see why it is a big deal that facebook bought instagram. Does it really matter what social network features instagram? The Iphone introduced the "App" world but ever since it did, other companies have been trying to catch up. I do not see the problem with having multiple social networks sharing information and sharing apps such as instagram. I think this issue will be a hot topic for awhile and then die out because it really is not that big of an issue.
I find it the most interesting that the article refers to Instagram as a "hipster photo app." This is a rather strange thing to say because the addition of hipster into that phrase is absolutely unnecessary. I do not see why we have the need to categorize people and thus stereotype them. I feel that the only reason it was put in there was to draw in a larger interest to an otherwise dull article.
ReplyDeleteAs for Instagram becoming a part of the Facebook network being portrayed as something that has never been done before, Facebook has many networks working for and with it. Many of the app on Facebook belong to their own networking group. Many games for instance belong to the Zynga company which remains independent from Facebook.
For instagram, I think this is a huge win. Most likely instagram was not going to become a huge social network site like twitter or Facebook. There is just to much competition in the social networking world. In a few months they were probably going to be obsolete like myspace or so many other wana-be networking sites. Instead they get a billion dollars. So much can be done with a billion dollars.
ReplyDeleteAlso this is a huge win for Facebook because as twitter gets more and more popular Facebook is losing patrons. This could be the boost the need to hang with twitter before becoming obsolete themselves. Well worth a billion dollars which is just a fraction of their budget.
Prompt 2
ReplyDeleteIt seems that most people on this blog agree that this is not as big of a deal as others are making it out to be. On other blogs people who dislike Facebook buying Instagram, say that their cool network is just going to merge with Facebook which will make it less fun for them. I don't see what the big deal is for them. For now the Facebook and Instagram are going to remain separate. However if they do merge, Facebook is most likely going to introduce all of the cool aspects of Instagram to it's own website. Instagram fans are not going to be losing very much.
The acquisition of Instagram by Facebook did not seem to surprise many people. For Instagram, nothing better could have happened for them. This social network was not too popular, and being bought out by the biggest social network is awesome for them. Another issue is that people believe Instagram won't be as cool once it integrates with Facebook. I'm not sure why people think that. They will still be able to take pictures and use different filters, and be able to share their pictures with their friends. I find it a huge benefit to Instagram users because this way users will be able to share their pictures with a ton more people. The integration of Instagram into Facebook won't happen anytime soon so there is nothing to worry about at the moment.
ReplyDeleteFacebook purchasing Instagram is not a surprise to me, but I do have different opinions about the situation. On one hand, it is good that Instagram is a part of Facebook now. This gives Facebook something other than what has been a part of that site for years now. It is also a good opportunity for Instagram because it gives that site to be used by the millions of people using Facebook. On the other hand, I feel that Instagram was doing well on its own and it was maybe a little too soon to give into one of the largest mainstream social networking websites today. Overall, whether Instagram is a part of Facebook or an individual site, it will do well either way.
ReplyDeletePrompt 2
ReplyDeleteThis article brings up a conflict between the mainstream society and the hipster population because of Instagram and its increasing popularity. The hipster's believed that Instagram was theirs because it was not used by everyone yet, but they were naieve to think that it ever belonged to them. Facebook's owners were looking to increase their capablities and reach by adding Instagram to their feature list, which would make it readily available to mainstream society. This is a hipster's biggest fear and as soon as it becomes that popular, they will abandon it and find something else that they can all become a part of before it was "cool."
Facebook is finally starting to throw its financial weight around in the past few years by becoming a publicly traded company, associating itself with nearly everything in the known world, and most recently this high profile one billion dollar acquisition of Instagram. Mark Zuckerberg obviously seems to know what hes doing. People seem to be divided in two on this purchase by Facebook, those who used Instagram prior to the merger are afraid that; with all of the updates and alterations to Facebook as of late, they are afraid Zuckerberg will continue this trend, regardless of his promise to keep it unchanged, and end up ruining the app in the process. The other half seem to just be excited to be able to have access to the once exclusive iPhone app. Many attribute the hostility to the "hipsters" anger at this once "underground" app has been released onto the hundreds of millions of ravenous social networkers, however I think the main issue might be that people don't want those controversial information sharing programs added to their favorite app. In reality while this purchase HUGE right now, it is a huge gamble for Facebook. Honestly, purchasing a free app that is currently taking in minimal profit for a billion dollars? The Instagram guys are loving that, but Facebook could be dreading it in a few years if the fad starts to fade, just like AOL is with ICQ and Rupert Murdoch was with Myspace before he sold the website that he purchased for 580 million dollars for a mere 50 million last year. We'll see what comes out of this for Facebook.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that caught my attention was using the word "Hipster" in the title of the article. My first reaction was, "oh boy here we go" because according my own knowledge, the term is used to describe people who listen to bands that I have never heard of or something that is popular among a subculture of people, but not to the mainstream. Along with this the author comments that, "Already, Instagram users were complaining... Now their once-cool photo-sharing network is part of the same site their grandparents belong to." Honestly I think this Instagram thing is just a fad. Although they have gained a huge sum of money they are now trapped within the huge beast of Facebook. I agree with Andy that Facebook is taking a huge risk. They are pretty much gambling on a free app that could just possibly be a fad. But money has always been that one thing that keeps the world going 'round so as long as this Instagram thing stays popular I guess it is all good for them and Facebook.
ReplyDeleteHopefully not to late to add that I was responding to Prompt 2.
DeletePrompt 2
ReplyDeleteThe mergence of Facebook and Instagram has caused uproar from various people about how they feel that the features of Instagram will be lost. Other companies and organizations around merge all the time to better the company or society. One example is AOL and Time Warner Cable. Users of AOL were worried that AOL would not work as efficiently or that Time Warner would get rid of some of the features AOL was popular for. I myself still have an AOL account and the mergence of these two companies did not have an effect on me. I feel as though it is the same with Facebook and Instagram. The companies are merging for a reason and if Instagram is to combine completely into Facebook and not stand alone, I believe it is for the betterment of society and the companies themselves. Merging is used to strengthen an organization, not tear it down and make it unknown. I actually believe that with this combination, it would be better for Instagram to fall under Facebook, that way people would be involved will both systems instead of just one. Whether Instagram falls under Facebook or not, it will be in the best interest of society and the companies themselves.
Agreeing with most people on here, I believe that as a "hipster" app, Instagram will no longer be used as something that is "hipster". Most things that belong in a hipster category are not well known to the general society, but it seems that the term hipster will no longer exist due to things like this purchase. Hipster people or items are becoming more popular than before and a ton of people are labeling themselves as "hipster". If things that were considered to be hipster are exploited like Instagram in the future, the term "hipster" will probably cease to exist.
ReplyDeletePrompt 2
As pop culture is the theme of our class, it is surely relevant to pull hipsters into a blog. One could argue whether this app is strictly a hipster app, or just another one more useful app in the App Store. Facebook made a huge business decision to purchase Instagram, knowing that it may upset avid "hipsters" out there. Of course as the owners of the app, Facebook has the right to change the app to their liking. If the users don't find the app to be useful or trendy to them, that dictates the direction of Facebooks business decision. Facebook claims they aren't going to change key features of the app, but if they do, are they wrong to do so? Surely there are people upset by the purchase of Instagram, but there are also people who will benefit from it and are happy about that. As users of the app, all we can do is choose to use it or not to use it. As a billion dollar company, Facebook is very likely to do as they please, and not take the voice of the hipsters into account of their decisions. Hipsters can choose to use it or not, regardless the decision was purely business and that has to be accepted at its face value.
ReplyDeletePrompt 2
Even though facebook has become a mainstream commodity for the everyday user, also referenced in the article that our grandparents are also on there. But when the article and the purpose of facebook they dont want to completely destroy what instagram has come up with. Even though I think that instagram sold out and decided to sell their product to facebook for their use, is just another way smaller companies sell their ideas, instead of setting the trend of their own product they sell it to someone else to do with and just get money from it, or even the right to say "i created the program instagram" and thats about it. This topic does stay with the pop culture criteria though for the class, because its talking about two main things being used every single day of a persons life.
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