No Filter

Instagram was one of the first apps to fully exploit our relationship with our phones, compelling us to experience life through a camera for the reward of digital validation.

Instagram was also no longer allowed to run free promotions within the Facebook news feed—the ones that told people to download the app because their Facebook friends were already there. That had always brought a steady stream of new users to Instagram.

So that summer, Zuckerberg directed Javier Olivan, Facebook’s head of growth, to draw up a list of all the ways Instagram was supported by the Facebook app. And then he ordered the supporting tools turned off.

Every time Instagram had a slice of success, Zuckerberg seemed to kick them back in their place. And it was about to get worse

#deletefacebook started trending. Even WhatsApp cofounder Acton tweeted it, before deleting his Facebook account.

Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA), the troll farm that had run the campaign to divide America with memes and fake accounts, received more likes and comments on their Instagram content than on any other social network—including Facebook. While Facebook was a better venue for going viral, Instagram was a better place to spread lies.

017 article, “Selfies—Living in the Era of Filtered Photographs,”

Facebook is for getting likes, YouTube is for getting views, Twitter is for getting retweets, Instagram is for getting followers.

One influencer with a verified account, Sia Cooper, @diaryofafitmommyofficial, told Vogue she gained 80,000 followers in just a few weeks by lovingly commenting on Kardashian-Jenner posts, though she didn’t actually know the family: “I choose to comment on the highest followed accounts because this means my comment is more likely to be seen by many more users,”

He asked Systrom to build a prominent link within the Instagram app to send his users to Facebook. And alongside the Facebook news feed, in the navigation to all of the social network’s other properties, like groups and events, Zuckerberg removed the link to Instagram.