Instragram: The $1 Billion Dollar iPhone App

Sure, Instagram is more than just an iPhone application, and has now been released on the Andriod as well. But for what is nothing more than a camera app with simple photo effects and the platform to share these, the purchase today of Instagram by big cousins Facebook is nothing short of jaw dropping.

Mark Zuckerburg, an E:O favourite and easily the ballsiest CEO around, had this to say about the accquisition:

"This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together."

While we all think about this massive, massive sale value, it's important to remember Instagram and Facebook are already used as one in the same, so the end result for us as consumers will be exactly the same as it was yesterday morning.

Here's the most amazing stat: Instagram has accumulated it's $1 billion valuation in less than two years of operation. The New York Times has been around for over 100 years, and has a market value of $950 million.

Facebook wins out again.

Read more about the sale of Instagram here and, for the business man or woman inside each of us, read an interesting article about the possibility of a social media bubble here.