instagram

Instagram users can now display their photos by location with a new mapping feature, utilizing the app's geolocation abilities to visually showcase where photos were taken.

The company rolled out the new feature today, along with other tweaks to the app's interface, in the new version 3.0 for both Android and iOS devices.

Instagram seems to have paid careful attention to ensuring that users who don't want to mark their location can avoid it from the start.

When using the mapping feature for the first time, people will be able to select which of the photos … Read more

Drawing upon a little-known California law, Facebook is reportedly looking to hasten the payout of its Instagram purchase.

Typically with deals like this companies have to first register with the Securities and Exchange Commission but if the social network is able to use the California law it could save the company time and money. Only six states, including California, allow for this SEC exemption.

According to the Financial Times (subscription required), Facebook has scheduled an August 29 "fairness hearing" with the California Department of Corporations in San Francisco to discuss the terms and conditions of the proposed payout.… Read more

Facebook's $1 billion proposed Instagram acquisition is one step closer to approval.

The U.K.'s Office of Fair Trading today approved the deal, saying that it has decided "not to refer this merger to the Competition Commission." The agency had until August 23 to refer the acquisition inquiry to the commission.

Back in June, U.K. news outlet Guardian reported that the Office of Fair Trading was considering investigating the deal. The publication said, citing sources, that the agency was concerned that the deal would hurt competition in the marketplace by combining two of the most … Read more

If you're still wondering why Instagram appealed to Facebook, consider how many of the world's top 100 brands are already on the photo-sharing service.

Some 40 percent of the Interbrand 100 -- the world's most popular brands -- are active on the young service, according to a study released today by Simply Measured. The study of how the brands were used on Instagram was released in conjunction with the debut of a new Instagram analytics tool.

While that's nowhere near Facebook's 98 percent adoption rate or Twitter's 94 percent, Simply Measured points out that … Read more

What do UFOs, Bigfoot, and the end of the rainbow have in common? They're all hiding from the billion or so human beings walking around with cell phone cameras, ready to catch them in an unguarded moment, each hoping to be the first to post it and share it. And so we have Instagram. As if it weren't already too easy to jazz up and post your pics on Instagram, now you can use Instagram's API directly inside your Web browser with Instagram for Chrome, a free extension from 64 Pixels. With it, you can access your … Read more

While downloading all of someone's uploaded Instagram pictures can be considered cool, creepy, or even a gray area, it's still a pain because of the limitations placed on the mobile apps and Web UI for Instagram. This is probably a safety measure against people stealing images to use for their own personal gain. However, if you're set on saving the photos from a user, nothing stops you from opening each one and saving it from your Web browser. Or, maybe you're just trying to back up photos from your own Instagram account to your computer. … Read more

A new service called This is Now lets you see the world through Instagram's eyes. All you have to do is pick one of five major cities (New York, Sao Paolo, London, Tokyo, or Sydney), and you're instantly immersed in a beautiful real-time visualization of Instagram photos from those locations. Once you start watching, it's hard to pull yourself away. … Read more

Instacollage lets you combine and manipulate multiple photos into a single collage before sharing with your social networks. It gives you 18 different collage styles to choose from, including a single square picture layout (similar to Instagram), and layouts with up to four different panels of varying arrangements. After you pick your style, the empty collage template pops up so you can add your photos to the panels. The interface here is perfect, as it lets you simply tap a panel to insert a photo from your gallery, then drag and pinch to move and resize. Unfortunately, though, Instacollage does … Read more

As Instagram users update their smartphones with the newest version of the photo sharing app that came out today, they'll see something missing: Find friends on Twitter.

Instead, they'll get a message that says this, "Unable to Find Friends. Twitter no longer allows its users to access this information in Instagram via the Twitter API. We apologize for any inconvenience."

According to TechCrunch, Twitter has decided to turn off its API for Instagram although other social apps, such as The Fancy and Foursquare, still get access.

There could be many reasons for this. It could be … Read more