Is Instagram Going to Be Facebook's Mini-me?

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By: Emory Brown

Technology evolves every day and every day some tech giant goes out into the market place and buys itself a little tech company they can groom and call their very own. Silicon Valley is the breeding place for these types of business deals and many companies come under the umbrella of tech behemoths to their betterment. Yet the most interesting tech adoption of late is the purchase of Instagram by Facebook and the integration of similar user experiences, which is creating a blurred screen for me and some others at least about whether or not we are watching FB turning Instagram into a mini-me.

Maybe this can be construed as a misunderstanding of the site’s use by various age groups. I can easily say that Instagram has proven to be a safe place for youngsters to play. I know plenty of fifth graders who are sending photos to each other all day after school. They’re posting cool stuff and many parents are in alliance with their kids having Instagram pages because they aren’t exposed to some of the interesting pictures of amateur models posing in their “vickies.”

However, you can post images on Instagram, talk to friends, play music, watch video…Sounds like Facebook Jr. to me. Yet what I believe we are witnessing could be the beginning of what I would call the version of “me-too products” for tech. You know… Lipton has “Lemon Ice Tea” and Arizona says “Me Too”! Are our tech appetites beginning to thirst for competition on a scale that caters to consumers’ every whim? Or are we witnessing the brilliance of a holding company strategy like that of Foot Locker, which owns Foot Locker, Champs, Lady Foot Locker, and Foot Action?

Interesting, isn’t it? Is Facebook revolutionizing its business model and creating new opportunities for building entities that share common traits to appeal to people’s need for variety? Maybe they want to see themselves reinvented. Whatever the case, maybe Facebook could become Dr. Evil and Instagram could become Mini-me. Let’s just hope Facebook keeps Instagram simple and sweet. Because a “Mini-me” Facebook is just a weird clone that can’t be cool without being a knock-off of another tech brand.

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About the Author

Emory Brown is an award-winning creative director/writer whose mission is to spread the gospel of what great marketers can do when they put their heads together and work together for the greater good and not the bottom line. Working with many esteemed clients, his portfolio of work ranges in genre from conservative to ultra-modern including American Family Insurance, United Airlines, Mazda 6 and RX-8, Illinois Lottery, Tyson, Miller Genuine Draft, Nike Air Force 1, and Mercedes Benz, to name a few.

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