Facebook and Instagram, sitting in a tree

Kevin Systrom, CEO of Instagram:

Today, we couldn’t be happier to announce that Instagram has agreed to be acquired by Facebook.

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It’s important to be clear that Instagram is not going away. We’ll be working with Facebook to evolve Instagram and build the network. We’ll continue to add new features to the product and find new ways to create a better mobile photos experience.

Too bad.

Also, a bit of good insight by Alex Wilhelm at The Next Web:

Facebook has the ad power to do what Instagram couldn’t: make a cent.

But that’s not really the point. Facebook has to keep growing. It has to get to one billion active users in a hurry, as its public offering looms, and investors are going to demand growth. And it can’t have a pesky gnat like Instagram take any of its user momentum, user-engagement momentum, or content (photos) potential from its platform. Facebook has to be totalizing, essentially, to command the valuation that it wishes.