A few days ago, Instagram announced that they were going to start having advertisements on their platform.  A lot of users are complaining because they think their photo streams are going to be filled with those flashy annoying banner advertisements.  However, this is not the case with Instagram.  Instagram has found a way to implement advertisements into their users photo streams without destructing their users experience.  They do this by using the data they have on their users, which is they know who their users follow.  For example, Tom Ford, the famous fashion designer, has sixty-four thousand followers on Instagram.  Now let’s say someone follows Louis Vuitton, Gucci and other high-end fashion accounts, but not Tom Ford.  Instagram knows that this user has an interest in high-end fashion, so an advertisement they might see is a filtered Tom Ford Instagram picture, which is something they are interested in.  I personally believe that Instagram’s decision to start having advertisements isn’t a big deal at all.  I think that Instagram has found a way to make advertising on their platform non-obtrusive, useful and welcoming to the user, while maintaining their current value proposition, which is why I think Instagram will succeed in their reformation, and why Facebook will finally begin to see a return on their $1 billion investment.

Brustein, J. (2013, October 03). Instagram will have ads. get over it. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-03/instagram-will-have-ads-dot-get-over-it

Poulsen, L. (2013, September 09). Instagram announces ads and the public backlash begins. Retrieved from http://www.businessbee.com/resources/news/operations-buzz/instagram-announces-ads-public-backlash-begins/

Beasla, S. (Designer). (2013, July 19). [Web Photo]. Retrieved from http://blog.viralheat.com/2013/07/09/instagram-how-to-go-viral-with-your-filtered-photos/