[mikem170]

> Facebook has direct competitors that can overtake them in just a few years

>Instagram was made by a few python coders in months. This shows how easy it is to make a product that competes with Facebook

Then why did Facebook buy Instagram, instead whipping up some python code on their own if it's so easy?

I would conclude they bought them to be anti-competitive.

[mrits]

For their users.

[fakedang]

At that point (around the time of the acquisition), I guess one could say there was significant overlap between FB and IG users, and that FB had more users than IG.

[mrits]

No, Instagram had a thriving mobile user base. Facebook was getting demolished by Twitter in this area at the time. FB knew the future was mobile

[fakedang]

That clearly implies that the acquisition wasn't for the users but for the platform and the brand value associated with being present on mobile.