Technology
What you need to know in advertising today
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Instagram’s cofounders are leaving the company.
On Monday night, Kevin Systrom, CEO of the Facebook-owned
photo-sharing app, announced that he and fellow cofounder Mike
Krieger were departing the social media firm.
His statement came after a
report from The New York Times that the duo had
quit, and
Bloomberg subsequently reported that the move
came “after growing tensions with [Facebook’s] Chief Executive
Officer Mark Zuckerberg over the direction of the product.”
Instagram has thus far been a bright spot in Facebook’s
portfolio, largely (though
not entirely) untainted by controversies — but the
cofounder team’s departures raises questions about the direction
and future of the wildly popular app.
To read more about the departures, click here.
In related news:
Kevin Systrom dropped clues last year about why he would
hate Facebook meddling with Instagram. The Instagram
founder made it clear how much he values Instagram’s
independence, telling Recode that it’s important “not to meddle
if things are going really well.”
5 red flags in the Instagram founders’ goodbye letter to
Facebook that make it obvious there’s bad blood. A
close look at the “farewell letter” reveals several breaches of
etiquette that suggest this is not an amicable break up.
These astonishing numbers show why Facebook can’t afford
to let Instagram’s growth stall. Studies and
estimates show that Instagram is generally growing faster than
the core Facebook app, and gets more engagement from users.
In other news:
Versace fans are terrified that a $2 billion deal with
Michael Kors will ‘kill’ the fashion brand. Michael
Kors is
buying Versace for $2.12 billion the companies announced
on Tuesday.
Snapchat’s latest tool lets users point their cameras at
products and buy them on Amazon. When Snapchat users
spot an item they want more information on, they can point the
app’s camera at the product or its barcode, pressing down on the
screen until the app recognizes the item.
Comcast’s $39 billion bid for Sky throws uncertainty on
the future of Hulu, Disneyflix, and Now TV. Hulu, a
US streaming service with 20 million subscribers, shares
ownership three ways: 60% Disney/Fox, 30% Comcast, and 10%
AT&T.
‘Our show tries to be an alternative’: Inside
Refinery29’s big bet to make a hit late-night show on Facebook
Watch. The show is split into short segments that
cover politics and pop culture.
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