Tag: instagram

Instagram Hits 150 Million Users Landmark, Ads Coming Soon

Instagram announced today that they now have over a 150 million users, up 50 million in the last 6-months.

The app itself – which allows users to capture and share video and pictures – is only available on two platforms, iOS and Android, plus knowledgable BlackBerry users can port the app over to their device.

Instagram also noted that they’re “more committed than ever to bringing you the best Instagram experience possible.” This ‘best Instagram experience’ will include ads. A separate report in the Wall Street Journal reveals that the company will begin monetizing its app “within the next year.”

Emily White, who the WSJ says is Instagram’s COO, is leading the charge to bring in big brand advertisers. She stated that although Instagram was bought by Facebook for $1 billion and has never made a cent, “We want to make money in the long term, but we don’t have any short-term pressure.”

The company is building relationships with brands that are already using Instagram to promote themselves for free. Those brands will have to be convinced that paying for ads is more effective than simply posting amazing photos. Instagram also needs a sales team.

According to the WSJ, White is considering the app’s Discover and Search sections as definite ad possibilities. White also said that brands are interested in click-through links from their Instagram photos to their product pages, but that is a pie-in-the-sky idea for now.

White’s biggest challenge in prepping Instagram for ads is the app’s 150 million users. Instagram has been ad-free for so long that any major change could send those users into the waiting arms of another photo-sharing app.

The company has already met with Ford, Williams-Sonoma and Coca-Cola.

September 9, 2013
NASA Joins Instagram, Posts Vintage Moon Pics

Behold! There finally exists an Instagram account that doesn’t contain images of Starbucks or obnoxious selfies!

Nasa has joined the world of Instagram – and had attracted 17,000 followers within nine hours of posting up its first picture. Making its debut on the social media photo sharing site, the agency posted an image from 1969 of the Earth as seen from the Moon.

Of course, NASA is no stranger to social media. The agency’s Instagram profile complements NASA’s strong social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, Flickr, Foursquare, Reddit and other sites. NASA’s strategy with social media: engaging and inspiring the public with unique content.

An image of the Earth, peeking above the alien horizon of the moon, is extraordinary in any context, but seems especially so amid the very ordinary stuff of Instagram.

Speaking about NASA boldly joining Instagram, Lauren Worley, NASA press secretary, said in a statement, “Instagram has a passionate following of users who are hungry for new and exciting photos. We believe we have some of the most engaging images on and off the planet — and we can’t wait to engage with Instagrammers.” Worley also said Instragam fits the space agency’s “story of exploration and discovery.”

Along with the new official NASA account, the agency’s Goddard Spaceflight Center and Ames Research Center also have profiles on Instagram.

September 7, 2013
6tag brings Instagram to Windows Phone – Unofficially

Windows Phone users are missing out on Instagram for a while now, but that is now set to change, unofficially. French developer Rudy Huyn has created 6tag for Windows Phone, previously known as 6tagram just before Facebook and Instagram changed their Privacy rules and Third Party APIs.

6tag is free to download, provides access to the original filters found in Instagram, video uploads, and the linear and radial blur effects. 6tag Developer, Huyn, has also added support for sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, VK, and Foursquare. The Previous version had some bug issues and privacy concerns which were fixed when Huyn updated the Application yesterday.

Microsoft Apparently has an App for Instagram already in the works, but has been unable to get Instagram to approve it.

August 26, 2013
Instagram Acquires Video Sharing App Luma

Instagram, now owned by Facebook, has acquired the Luma Camera app and removed it from App Store. The app featured real time video stabilization and rolling shutter correction, real time filters, and pinch to zoom.

The acquisition is announced by Luma on its homepage:

Eighteen months ago, we embarked on a mission to make capturing and sharing beautiful videos easy without expensive software or heavy equipment. By joining the exceptionally talented team at Instagram, we’re taking another big step towards realizing that mission. We’re incredibly excited to be able to help make a product that is already used and loved by millions of people even better.

As part of our move to Instagram, we are shutting down the Luma service. We want to make this transition as painless for you as possible. Here is a link to download your videos. We will also continue to support Luma until December 31st, 2013. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions, comments, or requests for technical support at [email protected].

A heartfelt thanks goes out to every user, family member, investor and friend. We couldn’t have achieved this milestone without your help. We hope to see you on Instagram!

– The Luma Team

Terms of the deal have not been revealed, but Facebook did confirm the acquisition.

“By joining the exceptionally talented team at Instagram, we’re taking another big step towards realizing that mission,” the Luma team wrote after mentioning they want to make capturing and sharing videos easy without the need for expensive software or heavy equipment.

August 24, 2013
Rapper Boasts Of Gun Sales On Instagram, Leads To Biggest Guns Bust In New York History

Nineteen people have been indicted in a gun bust that began as a narcotics investigation after an aspiring rapper posted photos of weapons and cash on Instagram.

An undercover city police officer posing as a gun broker for criminal customers bought 254 weapons from the men in dozens of transactions since last year – the largest gun seizures in the city in recent memory. One of the guns was an assault rifle that was disassembled and transported in a girlfriend’s zebra-striped bag, authorities said.

Aspiring rapper Neno Best is among a group of 19 people charged with selling nearly $160,000 of illegal weapons in New York.

Best, 26, whose real first name is Matthew, was investigated by an undercover NYPD detective after the rapper posted images of large quantities of money on Instagram, captioning one photo ‘Brown bag it’.

Other photos and videos, most of which have now been deleted, included shots of a variety of guns. One of the guns shared on Instagram was a Luger pistol, with Best commenting underneath ‘This old ass gun lol a hundred years old lol’. Neno also attached details to the images saying that he was selling weapons out of his Ocean Hill recording studio.

According to CBS New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said “New York is the safest big city in the nation, but year after year, illegal guns flow into our city from states that don’t have common-sense laws that keep guns out of the hands of criminals. There is no doubt that the seizure of these guns has saved lives,” the Mayor said at the news conference.

[youtube id=”ILJkByHQt2U” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

[Via]

August 21, 2013
Acura Teases NSX Prototype before 4th August Reveal

Honda’s luxury sub-brand Acura will reveal the prototype NSX on the 4th of August, when it shows up at Mid-Ohio Raceway for the Honda 200 IndyCar race, but the genuine production car isn’t scheduled to arrive until 2015. But just to keep fanboys (like myself) enthusiastic about the return of the sports car, Acura has released Vine and Instagram videos with very exciting snippets of the mid-engined coupe lapping a test track in both the dry and the wet.

The concept version for the new NSX was first unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show last year, with a slightly revised version making an appearance in January of this year. Honda has confirmed that the production car has retained the concept’s Sport Hybrid SH-AWD (Super Handling All Wheel Drive) system, while the styling and themes and proportions of the concept will also carry on to the final product.

The Sport Hybrid SH-AWD system features a mid-mounted V6 petrol unit coupled to an electric motor to drive the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Twin electric motors will drive the front wheels at the same time, making the NSX an all-wheel drive car. A total power of around 400 brake horsepower is expected from the system, but the torque from the three electric motors and engine will probably be the factor which really sets it apart. Great suspension and sharp handling is promised, with the twin motors up front permitting very responsive torque vectoring.

The videos made available by Acura can be found at the links below.

https://vine.co/v/hAYqxjnjlJq

http://instagram.com/p/cWxTxnoRt8/#

July 31, 2013
Instagram Deleting Posts Uploaded Through Third Party Windows Phone App

Those of you using Instance, the unofficial Instagram client for Windows Phone, have probably noticed that things aren’t running as smoothly as they should since yesterday. Indeed Instance seems to be in some trouble.

Numerous users report that photos that they share to the social photo service are being deleted shortly after being uploaded. This issue is in addition to an earlier problem that saw some users receiving a log-in error message when trying to use the app, although the two may be connected.

The problems started when Instagram changed their keys that are used to authenticate, and Windows Phone users obviously got left out. However that problem was quickly fixed once Daniel Gary, the app’s developer, got wind of it.

The Facebook-owned photo-based network hasn’t developed an official Instagram app for Windows Phone users. As a result, people have been forced to use third-party clients, such as the popular Instance application.

There’s no clear explanation why this is happening and the app’s creator Daniel Gary half-jokingly posted the tweet below.

Evidently Instagram has little spies that watch every @WindowsPhone user and deletes their images after uploading. #onlythingicanthinkof

— Daniel Gary (@danielgary) July 30, 2013

It’s unclear at this point whether the automatic deletions are a technical problem, or an intentional decision by Instagram to disincentivize third-party applications on the Windows Phone platform.

July 30, 2013
Instagram Posts Pictures Of Smoothies And Fruit To Their Accounts

An Instagram hack that posts pictures of fruit to users’ timelines has returned after a sabbatical.

The security issue is called the ‘Smoothie Hack”, some clever smooth-ie criminal has decided to post pictures of this drink, but once you click on them this is where the breach happens. The pictures come with some text trying to explain that they are drinking a new diet and that others should try it by clicking on a URL link within their Instagram bio, he wants you to try it with him.

The hack seems to be harmless enough as far as these types of things go. Still, if you have been affected you should change that passcode (assuming you still have access to your account) and also change any other account passcodes that may have been the same as what you had been using on Instagram.

As The Next Web reports, the links being inserted into bios are made to look like BBC links, but the domain being used was actually registered just yesterday (although the registrant details may well be fake) – suggesting that it may have been registered specifically for use in this hack.

In the meantime we offer this as advice — don’t click the links and move forward with a password reset as soon as possible.

[Via]

July 27, 2013
Instagram For iOS Gets Landscape Mode

Instagram can take photos and video and add filters that make them look dated, but nothing was more dated than the fact it didn’t support landscape mode.

Instagram for iPhone has been updated with a couple minor improvements that could have a major impact on the way users enjoy the app.

Until now, Instagrammers have been limited to taking photos in portrait mode; while it was possible to turn the phone on its size (the photos themselves are square either way) the interface did not adjust accordingly. In version 4.0.2, iPhone users can now turn the device onto its side and shoot as if using a regular camera app. Taking a photo in landscape lets you hold on to the other side of the phone for support, potentially forging better photos in the process.

The other improvement made to the app, other than the requisite “bug fixes and performance improvements,” is the addition of Cinema Mode when using the front-facing camera. Cinema was a feature incorporated into Instagram videos on the iPhone, improving shakes and other aberrations in rendering.

Instagram hasn’t stated that these improvements will come to Android — Cinema isn’t even available using the rear camera on Android — but we hope it is sooner than later.

July 6, 2013
5 Million Instagram Videos Uploaded On First Day

Instagram’s new video feature isn’t going over well for everyone. GigaOm’s Matthew Ingram says he’ll never click on your videos, and others have followed suit, blaming the addition for disrupting the service’s simplicity and, proportionally, its charm.

But that didn’t stop hundreds of thousands of users from uploading millions of videos in its first day — 5 million videos to be exact. According to an Instagram spokesperson, video uploads peaked during the Heat-Spurs game last night but remained steady throughout the day.

While five million videos may not seem like a lot when you consider Instagram has 130 million active users, there are a few things to consider: there is a slight learning curve to this feature, and it takes a fair amount more effort to complete an Instagram video than a photo; and over half of Android users do not yet have access to video creation, as the feature is limited to phones running Jelly Bean and above. At last count, that was around 35% of total users — still hundreds of millions, mind you — but certainly enough to have an effect.

Another thing to consider is that Vine, with its six-second-video focus, is likely better suited to be the “Instagram of video” than Instagram itself. There has always been a tense but friendly rivalry between Twitter and Facebook, each company borrowing features from one another, but adding video to Instagram seems to be largely reactionary and may be viewed in the long run as diluting its brand. Then again, 15 seconds, which is the maximum length of an Instagram video, is the perfect length for a pre-roll ad. So there’s that.

June 22, 2013
Instagram Gets Video With Filters

Those selfies and food photos in your Instagram feed might soon be a little less stationary. Starting today, the Facebook-owned service will be adding video features to its popular iPhone and Android apps.

Video on Instagram gives the 130 million users of the app the ability to post short video clips that can be three to 15 seconds long. In contrast, Vine allows a maximum of six seconds of video.

The new feature opens a potential new revenue stream for Facebook, which paid a premium price to buy Instagram last year. But Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom insisted the product was not specifically designed to generate new business.

“This is driven by consumer demand, not by business need,” Systrom said during a news conference at Facebook headquarters. “I don’t think we designed it with any advertising in mind.”

In its iOS version, the tool also includes a brand-new image stabilization mode called “Cinema” to eliminate shakiness in videos.

Users will now hit the camera button and get a choice of a still camera or video camera option. Selecting the video option will bring up the usual viewfinder, and then, similar to Twitter’s Vine app, holding down the video icon will capture video. Releasing it will allow you to pause the video, readjust your shot and then start capturing again.

Within hours of the new feature being added to Instagram, video clips began streaming in from locales around the world including a fish market in Japan, a space memorial in Russia and a surfing haunt on the California coast.

June 21, 2013
Hipstamatic Oggl app comes to WP8 to fill the void of Instagram

The lack of Instagram on Windows Phone 8 is seriously taking its toll on the users and by the looks of it Hupstamatic is here to provide some relief. The app Oggl was shown off at Nokia’s London event with a WP8 UI, and presently it is unknown if this is a Lumia exclusive App or will be available throughout the Windows Phone 8 lineup of smartphones.

The app features several filters as seen on Hipstamatic iPhone app, including the famous food filter, and users can buy packs to upgrade these filters. Sharing is available on Oggl and the app will connect to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

May 14, 2013
Nokia’s 2InstaWithLove puts pressure on Instagram for a Windows Phone App

In a bid to get Instagram to release an app for WIndows Phone, Nokia has formed an app called 2InstaWithLove. The app allows you to take a photo using the classic polaroid filter and automatically adds the hashtag #2InstaWithLove.

Most buyers today are sticking to Android and iOS, and stay weary of Windows Phone due to the lack of availability of apps like Instagram on the platform. This is Nokia’s one attempt to get the App developers (now Facebook) to develop for the Windows Phone Platform.

2InstaWithLove will only have one filter to begin with but will later add more, says Nokia, especially if they cannot get Instagram to play nice. We have tried the app and is quite nice, you can search for it on the Windows Mobile App store or follow the link below to get more information and download links.

[#2InstaWithLove]

March 18, 2013
Instagram Now Has 100 Million Users

Instagram has officially announced it’s hit the 100 million active users mark.

The social photo sharing app remains the most prevalent network for sharing images worldwide. Launched in October 2010, the platform has seen exponential growth since. The app actually reached the 100 million registered users mark by September 2012, according to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, which purchased Instagram at a $1 billion pricetag in April of last year. Today’s 100 million users number refers to those who post images via the app on a monthly basis.

[quote]”It’s easy to see this as an accomplishment for a company,” co-founder Kevin Systrom wrote in a blog post, “but I think the truth is that it’s an accomplishment for our community.”[/quote]

Even after the whole controversy a few months ago where many misread a change in Instagram’s terms of service as saying user photos would be used in advertisements, the network continues to grow like crazy.

Instagram is only available on two platforms, iOS and Android, with a third possibly coming in the form of BlackBerry 10. Whether it will be as a port of the Android version (more likely) or as a native app (far less likely) remains to be seen. There is no sign of Instagram for Windows Phone, nor has the company alluded to it.

February 27, 2013
Video : Blackberry 10 Photo Editing App

BlackBerry 10 is about just over 12 days away and the excitement is certainly high. One of the most talked about features that will be on camera – which will be an 8MP shooter – is Time Shift. This gives users the ability to edit a picture and make it perfect. Another expected camera feature to be built-in to BB10 is a picture editor app that’s similar to Instagram. With this you’ll be able to crop, remove red eye, add various filters and style, then share with your contacts.

The filter wars seem set to continue if you were to take the latest leaked video of the BlackBerry 10 photo editing app that has started to make its rounds online. At first, we had Instagram adding in a new filter, where Twitter and Flickr followed that up by adding more filters to their sites.

BlackBerry does not want to miss jumping aboard the photo editing bandwagon, which is why we have this video of a pre-production version of the BlackBerry Z10 that comes with just 1GB RAM and does not have the final software for security purposes, showing off some of the more notable features found in the smartphone’s camera app.

Are you excited to have the native capability of adding filters and other effects to photos and videotaken on your BlackBerry 10 device? Check out the video and sound off in the comments with your thoughts on it.

[Mobile Syrup]

January 18, 2013