2 Many Stripes

Here is why Facebook bought Instagram

With all the chatter about Facebook buying Instagram yesterday for $1 Billion dollars, I saw a post from one of my friends on Facebook who said, “Still don’t get Instagram. I get it, but I don’t get it. But, I’m not a billionaire either, so there’s that.”

When I asked him what he didn’t “get” about it and he replied:

I don’t get the idea held by some that, because a picture has a filter applied to it, it’s suddenly a better picture. I guess I just see it going the same way as all those men’s fashion monochrome shirt/tie combos went away once Regis and “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” went off the air. It’ll be something we look at and go, “Wow, circa 2012!” when we show these pics to our grandkids.”

I get what he said, but I think he’s missing the true essence of Instagram; I replied: 

I totally get what you’re saying, but I think to people who are active on Instagram don’t really love it because of the filters, but really the community and the perspective of those behind the camera. I mean, I follow strangers, brands and friends who all tell their unique stories through a photo. I hate to compare social networks, but it’s sort of like “the twitter of photo sharing.” I get to see what people are up to in realtime and tell my own story through photos. Are photos on Instagram prettier than they are in real life? Yes, but most things on the web are a little exaggerated too. ;)

I think why I like it has a lot to do w/my personal online behavior- i like to create and share and dig into the lives of others. Instagram is an awesome way to to do that.