Back to April 9, 2012, when Facebook announced that it was purchasing Instagram for $1 billion, there was immediately a large scale outcry from seemingly everyone from entrepreneurs to loyal Instagram users. How does an 18 month old startup with 13 employees and zero revenue go for that kind of money?
I’m not here to talk how successful Instagram was, because there are rarely few cases like it. Moreover, I didn’t see much revenues in Instagram until it released a new privacy policy in its Terms of Service last December, which means Instagram can share information about its users with Facebook, as well as other affiliates and advertisers.
Facebook’s vice-president of global marketing solutions Carolyn Everson said: “Eventually we’ll figure out a way to monetise Instagram.”
However, the new privacy policy riled social media users, with one likening it to a “suicide note”. Some of the most powerful users, National Geographic, for example, shut their Instagram accounts down. Coincidentally, Instagram lost almost 25 percent in daily usage over the Christmas after the new policy released.