Don’t have a smart phone but still want to look at your friends’ pictures on Instagram? Well now you can! Yesterday Instagram announced that users can now browse their feed and link out individual photos on the web, rather than just on a mobile device. Unfortunately, one feature that isn’t available yet is the ability to upload online. Instagram is constantly working to improve their ever-thriving application with new features and instant availability. So why the big jump to the desktop version? We can only think of one thing – available ad space. Back in December, Instagram received negative feedback after they decided to change their Terms and Services to support advertising revenue. While they released a statement stating that they will not profit from user photos, will this new web version be the perfect real estate for advertising? Nothing has officially been announced, but only time will tell! What … Continue reading
Tag Archives: instagram
Instagram: Not So Picture Perfect
Looks like Instagram will be working hard to end 2012 on a good note! On Monday, December 17th, the free photo-sharing service did not only add a new filter to the application, but they also released a new Terms of Service, which said would take effect on January 16, 2013. The updated user agreement suggested that the company now had the right to sell users’ photographs without consent or royalties as a means for advertisements. Yes – that meant that your perfectly captured photo of a sunset with an X-Pro II filter could be used by your favorite travel company and turned into an ad. This clearly did not settle well with the user base, quickly sparking backlash on an issue that Facebook continues to battle with. The noted online blog Gawker labeled the new policy “Instagram’s suicide note“. Instagram was first launched as an iPhone app on October 6, 2010. … Continue reading
Google Glass and Its Potential Affect on Social Networking
Robin Sloan, a writer and media inventor based in San Francisco, wrote a great article about Facebook and Google, basically pitting them against each other. I’m going to borrow some information from his post and build upon it, but you should check out the original article here. As Sloan states in his article, when you strip Facebook down, what you get is a massively successful and well-executed photo sharing site. In the last three months of 2011, users uploaded up to 250 million photos every day. All of the sudden the acquisition of Instagram for such a large price tag makes a lot of sense. If another picture sharing website rises in popularity, Facebook loses users. Remember MySpace? Of course you don’t. That’s because Facebook came up with a much better formula for uploading and sharing pictures with your friends. In my opinion, Google+ is a long way off from … Continue reading
Facebook to Acquire Instagram for $1 Billion
According to Mark Zuckerberg’s Timeline post from earlier today, Facebook is in agreement to acquire Instagram, the popular photo-sharing mobile app, for approximately $1 billion, which will be paid in cash and Facebook shares. The deal is expected to close by the end of this quarter. Zuckerberg wrote, “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.” With more than 27 million iOS users alone and last weeks launch of Instagram for Android which led to more than 1 million downloads within the first 24 hours, Instagram had become it’s own social network. Instagram CEO … Continue reading
Tech News Review: April 2011
March started out hot on the tech news front. On the first day of the month, Charlie Sheen opened his infamous Twitter account, and the next day, Apple debuted the iPad 2. However, a month later, Charlie Sheen was getting booed off stage by the same adoring fans who got him to one million followers in record time, and I was left wondering what the big deal was about the iPad 2. Sheen’s stage shows and Apple’s latest gadgets both sold out almost instantaneously, but both were disappointing. The Ides of March indeed. You can read an in-depth (and more positive) review of the iPad 2 here, but all I see is a fancy cover (not included) and a camera that should have been there in the first place. Apple, feel free to send me a demo, and maybe I’ll change my tune. Influence that. More recently, we heard about … Continue reading