If the world’s population is seven billion, we all know very well that more than half of the population knows what social media is, and the other half has sure heard about it. And if you ask me what is leading the social media kingdom, I would say it’s Instagram without hesitation. It’s been around for a while now, and to say that it has revolutionized the internet and the social media bubble would be an understatement. If you want to find out more about the history of Instagram, who owns it at the moment? Who were the owners? What is it? Then you found the right article, so make sure you read till the end to find out.
Currently, Instagram is under Facebook, and so is WhatsApp and yes, Mark Zuckerberg owns all three of them. He was once just the CEO of Facebook and has taken over Instagram as well in 2012 for one billion US dollars.
What is Instagram?
Instagram is an app or a social media platform that allows its users to socialize with one another and post pictures or videos of their choice on their personal accounts. Unlike some other platforms that rely equally on images and texts or, to be more specific, Unlike Twitter which relies on text more than all other factors, Instagram relies primarily on pictures.
The history of Instagram:
Instagram was initially founded by Kevin Systrom and was first launched in October of 2010. However, soon after that, in 2012, when Facebook bought Instagram for a whopping 1 billion dollars, many industry leaders and entrepreneurs were skeptical about the decision. Facebook themselves had just become profitable a few years before that, and they didn’t even go public yet. So It didn’t seem reasonable to spend one billion dollars on a photosharing app that had literally 13 employees at the time and has only been around for one and half years.
It all started with Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom, who were the ones who came up with the original idea for the start-up and then created Instagram using a little bit of Facebook’s already existing infrastructure to develop the app faster.
It all started when Kevin left Google to look for investors in Silicon Valley for his start-up. Fortunately for him, it worked out when Andreessen Horowitz and Baseline Ventures agreed to invest half a million dollars into the idea. This helped Mike and Kevin lift Burbn off the ground, an app that allowed users to share their locations, post pictures and accumulate points.
However, Kevin started to think that focusing on one main feature led to the creation of Instagram. It would be safe to say that Instagram was a rather trendy launch and the app basically went viral almost immediately after the launch. Within just the first 24 hours, more than 25,000 people signed up for Instagram, and in less than a year, Instagram had a total of 7 million users.
This has stalled the growth of Facebook, there were not many users joining, and many users even stopped using Facebook. So, Mark Zuckerburg made a big move to play it huge with Instagram. Kevin also received an offer from Jack Dorsey, but their offer was just half of what Mark came up with. But Kevin already had plenty of private funds which could run the company without fear for years, but he felt that the support from Facebook would make the app fall faster into the mainstream.
Hence Kevin did agree with Mark, but he didn’t want to lose control, so he put forth a contingency that Instagram would operate as an independent company under the ownership of Facebook, and he would remain the CEO. Under Kevin’s Leadership, the app was introduced and updated with many more features.
In 2018 Kevin and Mike just resigned from their roles and set their foot forward in some other direction. Well, Mike Kevin And MArk have never pointed fingers at each other about the sudden decision, and Mark even congratulated the other two on their future endeavors. But there was more to it.
When the board of executives at Facebook felt their app wasn’t getting enough credit even when it helped Instagram develop faster, Mark had no other choice but to ask for autonomy and started implementing all the new rules that would not allow people from the company to do stuff without his approval. Irritated by all the new rules, Kevin would use paternity leaves to take breaks and calm himself down.
It all went the bad way when Mark tried to explore Location tracking on Instagram, which Kevin was firmly against and also started to push Kevin to the edge and Kevin took not too long to realize that Mark was trying to make his buttons to get what he wants and decided to resign.
This was around the same time that Facebook was also involved in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which just future gave more reasons for Kevin and Mike to leave the company. Soon after, Adam Mosseri took over as the new leader of Instagram in 2018, and it has been doing pretty well like always.
It didn’t come by as a surprise when many of the users noticed that Instagram had lost the privacy and the autonomy that it once had, and Kevin did eventually hint at the tension between them, saying, ‘No one ever leaves a job when everything is awesome.’ Finally, however, Kevin and Mike confirmed that they are taking this time to concentrate more on themselves and spend some quality time while enjoying all the wealth they’ve gained working all those years.
Conclusion:
Since its launch, Instagram has always been a superior app and has gone through numerous changes, from ownership to silly updates. And it is not very astonishing for an app to face its downfall. So, In conclusion, Instagram is now originally under the license of Facebook and has a turnover of more than 20 billion Dollars. The app has provided numerous opportunities for people around the globe to socialize and also build themselves up, which is why it has become one of the most popular and known apps of all time.
Frequently asked questions:
- What are all considered social media platforms?
Social media platforms allow you to socialize within the community of users all across the globe and will enable you to share photos or videos of your choice on it. Some of the most used and popular social media platforms are Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Tiktok, Snapchat, Pinterest, Linked In, Etc.
- Who is Mark Zuckerberg?
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an internet entrepreneur and the CEO of Facebook; he is known for his words about the technological world and how he has turned social media into a place where everyone can find something to keep themselves entertained, earn, be happy, and a lot more.
- How does Instagram earn money?
Like many other social media platforms, Instagram as well earns its bucks from advertising. Have you ever come across a post or story while using Instagram for some product that is probably on your interest lists? Well, that was because of the promotions one does to reach a target audience. To get promoted, you need to pay and specific something, and that’s basically how Instagram makes money.
