Instagram was acquired by Facebook 17 months ago and although some were skeptical on what will come of the image sharing social platform. Most believe that Facebook will come with their advertising tactics to use the platform to generate income and it seem as though its about to really happen.
Facebook is now talking of how they will mess up Instagram with ads. Yes, Facebook is now making move to start rolling out ads on the Instagram platform.
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal this weekend, Instagram’s director of business operations Emily White talked about how Instagram was setting itself up to monetize. They company just announced that they had 150 million users, yet up until now, there’s still not a single ad in sight. But they’re coming.
As director of business operations, the 35-year-old Ms. White effectively is the new chief operating officer of Instagram, the point person charged with turning a billion-dollar acquisition that has never made a cent into a real business. Mr. Systrom, co-founder of Instagram, still makes the ultimate decisions, but it is Ms. White who is responsible for courting brand marketers and laying the foundation for advertising.
There are no ads on Instagram, but Ms. White said it should be ready to begin selling ads within the next year.
So you’ve got a year until Facebook ruins Instagram. Good to know. I realize ads are a depressing necessity of monetizing free Internet services, but Facebook’s approach to advertising is more egregious than most companies. And just think, they haven’t even started selling your Instagram data yet!
