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Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

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Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll be honest, I like ads that are relevant to the things I am interested in. I am no FB fan boy, but their ads are pretty good... I actually click on them. What's wrong with that?

Nothing. It's a win-win. Consumers get personalized, tailored ads. Businesses reach audiences that actually want their products. What annoys me are ads for products I've already purchased (amazon is terrible about this), or the same ad plastered 20 times across multiple sites. Instagram handles ads pretty well IMO. They are non-intrusive, easy to digest, and highly relevant. Facebook OTOH, has become one giant scroll…

Ads aren't win-win. They're taking up the space of the content I want to see. Accidentally clicking on them sends some of my personalized data to who-knows-where. They often run code not vetted by the site owner, making them a security risk. Getting a personalized ad is hardly a "win". It's like stepping on a piece of poop that is your favorite color.

(I'm fine with ad-supported products, but I see it as a necessary evil of the transaction, not as a win).

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#232
post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I think given their UI/model it is pretty difficult to have any long form discussion on Instagram. The "news" part of the newsfeed as always been FB's killer app. Or at least that and event planning, though I think it's not impossible for Instagram to develop a product around that.

I keep hearing (anecdotally, of course), that people are starting to prefer Instagram because long form discussions are more difficult there. They seem to be seeking an escape from the news. Fair point about the event planning ... if FB were to cross-launch the sane event planning DB on instagram and whatsapp, I suspect that would be pretty much a killer app.

> They seem to be seeking an escape from the news.

I mean that's about as 2018 as it gets. I'm not entirely sure if that's a permanent trend though.

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#233
post #99
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Say what you want about Zuckerberg but the guy was well ahead of his time and could see how things would evolve and what tick with people brains. Did he really predict that, or did he just see an upcoming potential competitive threat and buy it? I feel bad for the founders of Instagram. They could have been the next Zuckerberg(s) (as Instagram seems to be taking over as Facebook seems to be starting to fade), but i…

> I feel bad for the founders of Instagram. That's like feeling bad for someone who sold bitcoins at $10. The company they sold was worth $1bn (to Facebook) at the time. It was not worth $100bn.

Yeah. They should have gone for 5-10. I remember on one podcast, Kara Swisher was light-heartedly making fun if Kevin, saying "..He was crying..". Sort of like that. I believe it was a recode podcast

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll be honest, I like ads that are relevant to the things I am interested in. I am no FB fan boy, but their ads are pretty good... I actually click on them. What's wrong with that?

Nothing. It's a win-win. Consumers get personalized, tailored ads. Businesses reach audiences that actually want their products. What annoys me are ads for products I've already purchased (amazon is terrible about this), or the same ad plastered 20 times across multiple sites. Instagram handles ads pretty well IMO. They are non-intrusive, easy to digest, and highly relevant. Facebook OTOH, has become one giant scroll…

I find it way less intrusive than other forms of ad placements (TV, radio, billboards).

Talk about damming with faint praise. Ads are the top reason why I no longer listen to radio, and the TV is only bearable because I have a DVR.

That said, those are just annoying. Online ads are much more dangerous.

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#235

Facebook acquiring Instagram (good move) Google acquiring YouTube (good move) Microsoft acquiring Github (good move) Yahoo acquiring Tumblr for over a billion (bad move) Did anybody really think that was a good idea? I personally didn't. Not now, not ever.

Sun acquisition of MySQL for a billion was pretty bad too

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#237

To be contrarian - Facebook is transferring its own user base to Instagram at a quarterly rate which is convenient to shadow Snapchat. The people I see there aren't much different than the ones on FB every month. FB is notifying me that, every single friend on FB is now on Instagram. My likes on Instagram aren't shown to my followers - (I hope ) and that's the main difference which affects my behavior. Likes on insta…

It really depends on where you live. Instagram and Facebook are still achieving substantial unabated growth in developing countries. In the US, usage for FB's main app has pulled back a little, though remains pretty high.

The major difference in developed countries is that the new post-millenial generation aren't seeing the same usage patterns.

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#238

To be contrarian - Facebook is transferring its own user base to Instagram at a quarterly rate which is convenient to shadow Snapchat. The people I see there aren't much different than the ones on FB every month. FB is notifying me that, every single friend on FB is now on Instagram. My likes on Instagram aren't shown to my followers - (I hope ) and that's the main difference which affects my behavior. Likes on insta…

Your recent likes are shown to your followers on Instagram.

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#239

I am quite privacy conscious. I have deleted my FB account. On principle, I dislike targeted ads, user tracking, etc. BUT, I hate to admit this, the ads I get in Instagram are the most relevant I have ever gotten. I actually look forward to them, to discover new products. They are perfectly tailored to me. Dammit.

I haven't received any relevant ads yet but I have noticed that more and more ads are being shoved into my feed. It feels like there's an ad every 5 or 6 posts, it's a bit annoying, and I find myself checking into Instagram less often.

I wish I could pay a fee to get rid of ads and get a reverse chronological feed.

Re: Instagram Is Estimated to Be Worth More Than $100B

#240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing. It's a win-win. Consumers get personalized, tailored ads. Businesses reach audiences that actually want their products. What annoys me are ads for products I've already purchased (amazon is terrible about this), or the same ad plastered 20 times across multiple sites. Instagram handles ads pretty well IMO. They are non-intrusive, easy to digest, and highly relevant. Facebook OTOH, has become one giant scroll…

Ads aren't win-win. They're taking up the space of the content I want to see. Accidentally clicking on them sends some of my personalized data to who-knows-where. They often run code not vetted by the site owner, making them a security risk. Getting a personalized ad is hardly a "win". It's like stepping on a piece of poop that is your favorite color. (I'm fine with ad-supported products, but I see it as a necessary…

I mean, I would much prefer an ad-free world full stop - but that isn't likely to happen in my life time considering the amount of money in advertising.

You also have the option to fully block ads using extensions/plugins - nothing like that really exist for cable tv/radio/public spaces.

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