海角大神

Earlier this week, announced the acquisition of photo-sharing hub Instagram. The price tag? A reported $1 billion in stock options and cash, a hefty chunk of change even for a company that soon be valued at $100 billion.

In a message to users, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg maintained that although Facebook and Instagram offered very "different experiences, that the two platforms would "complement each other."聽

"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," Zuckerberg聽. "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."聽

Plenty of analysts Team Facebook was nuts. (The deal, one, "was聽an indication that Facebook does not have what it takes to stay in business.")聽

But today comes news that Facebook may have been prescient in gobbling up Instagram. According to VentureBeat, the new Instagram Android application up a million downloads in the first 24 hours it was available. And it wasn't just a quick burst of interest, either 鈥� over six days, downloads of the Android app topped five million. "Insta-growth," VentureBeat called it. (30 million users already reportedly Instagram through Apple's iOS.)听

The question now is whether Instagram can continue to thrive under Facebook control, Mike Isaac of Wired.聽

"Upon any relatively small startup being absorbed by a larger company, there鈥檚 almost always change in structure, workflow and even long-term product goals," Isaac writes. "While both聽Mark Zuckerberg聽and Burbn CEO聽Kevin Systrom聽both promised that Instagram would continue as the standalone brand and product it is now, it鈥檚 difficult to imagine that the social giant鈥檚 influence won鈥檛 affect Instagram鈥檚 evolution at all."

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