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Reflexions

Instagram: when big boys play…

By 10/04/2012December 4th, 202210 Comments

First of all: a billion dollars is a mighty smack of money. It is a huge pile of cash. It can buy you enough bread to feed a midsize African country for a decade, it can buy you some nice stealth fighters, a private island, or it can buy you -give or take some change- the New York Times (market cap $942m).

So, for the 13 man strong team of Instagram, to say no to the whopping 1.000.000.000 dollar cash pile that Facebook’s Marc Zuckerberg slammed on the table would have been very difficult. 1 billion dollars is a lot of reasons.  1 billion offers the Instagram people a golden future where they will not have to work, and can dream of white sanded beaches and chilled long drinks a-go-go. On a super yacht.

For us all, it just means that one of the favorite picture sharing tools together with the 1 billion pictures we jointly posted on it, became Facebook’s property. It solidifies Facebook’s position as the social network that is weaving a very tight web around your social life, and your social data. It strengthens Facebook’s position as the leading social stack on the web. It also patches one of Facebook’s Achilles Tendons: a good picture sharing platform.

Personally, I look at this a bit weary eyed. Remember Facebook buying Gowalla in December? It killed the service in March, buried the technology, the platform and its users in the darkest dungeon of Facebook Towers. I hope Zuckerberg will keep the good of Instagram alive. I loved the simple technology, the slightly cheesy filters, and the buzzing sharing community. I hope the buy was not a capitalist hostile takeover version of cease and desist. I sincerely hope to be spared the sad duty of having to write an in memoriam for Instagram over the next couple of months. I hate eulogies.

But I do not share the crazy-panicking Internet frenzy on the new acquisition by Facebook. If Facebook kills Instagram, other picture sharing networks will pop up. Zuckerberg bought Instagram because he wanted it, Zuckerberg bought Instagram because he can.

He can, because we all allow him to… don’t we?

Danny Devriendt

Danny Devriendt is the Managing Director of IPG/Dynamic in Brussels, and the CEO of The Eye of Horus, a global think-tank focusing on innovative technology topics. With a proven track record in leadership mentoring, C-level whispering, strategic communications and a knack for spotting meaningful trends, Danny challenges the status quo and embodies change. Attuned to the subtlest signals from the digital landscape, Danny identifies significant trends in science, economics, culture, society, and technology and assesses their potential impact on brands, organizations, and individuals. His ability for bringing creative ideas, valuable insights, and unconventional solutions to life, makes him an invaluable partner and energizing advisor for top executives. Specializing in innovation -and the corporate communications, influence, strategic positioning, exponential change, and (e)reputation that come with it-, Danny is the secret weapon that you hope your competitors never tap into. As a guest lecturer at a plethora of universities and institutions, he loves to share his expertise with future (and current) generations. Having studied Educational Sciences and Agogics, Danny's passion for people, Schrödinger's cat, quantum mechanics, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fuels his unique, outside-of-the-box thinking. He never panics. Previously a journalist in Belgium and the UK, Danny joined IPG Mediabrands in 2012 after serving as a global EVP Digital and Social for the Porter Novelli network (Omnicom). His expertise in managing global, regional, or local teams; delivering measurable business growth; navigating fierce competition; and meeting challenging deadlines makes him an seasoned leader. (He has a microwave at home.) An energetic presenter, he brought his enthusiasm, clicker and inspiring slides to over 300 global events, including SXSW, SMD, DMEXCO, Bluetooth World Congress, GSMA MWC, and Cebit. He worked with an impressive portfolio of clients like Bayer AG, 3M, Coca Cola, KPMG, Tele Atlas, Parrot, The Belgian National Lottery, McDonald's, Colruyt, Randstad, Barco, Veolia, Alten, Dow, PWC, the European Commission, Belfius, and HP. He played a pivotal role in Bluetooth's global success. Ranked 3rd most influential ad executive on Twitter by Business Insider and listed among the top 10 ad execs to follow by CEO Magazine, Danny also enjoys writing poetry and short stories, earning several literary awards in Belgium and the Netherlands. Fluent in Dutch, French, and English, Danny is an eager and versatile communicator. His BBQ skills are legendary.

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