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How to get started with Viddy

Sometimes all it takes is a short, 15-second video of a small, white dog to kickstart a project. You may have seen Viddy in the news today because one Mark Zuckerberg recently signed up and posted a video of his Puli pup, Beast. Let the Facebook acquisition rumors commence.

If you are curious about how Viddy, a free video-sharing app for the iPhone, works, I offer you a quick primer.

After installing Viddy, you can sign up via Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail. Viddy's layout is similar to Instagram's, with five buttons along the bottom. From left to right, … Read more

100 Cameras in 1 HD: funky photo editing on the iPad

If you are among the multitudes who enjoy Instagram and its photo-filter ilk, you'll have fun experimenting with 100 Cameras in 1 HD, a funky iPad camera app that provides 100 photo filters and sliders to adjust their effects.

The app starts you off by giving you five sample photos to work with, but you can grab any photo from your Camera Roll, Photo Stream, or your iPhoto library. You can also snap a photo using the app (if you have an iPad 2 or later), but the viewfinder is a small window instead of the entire iPad display. … Read more

Did Facebook spend $1B to keep Instagram from Twitter?

Was Facebook's acquisition of Instagram motivated by paranoia?

That is the theory behind a VentureBeat report that Mark Zuckerberg rushed the negotiation process for the photo-sharing app to keep it out of Twitter's hands. The report contends that Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom first received an offer and term sheet from Twitter and then leveraged that for a $1 billion payday earlier this month from the social-networking giant.

Systrom used a pending funding round with Sequoia and Greylock to pressure Twitter to make an offer, a source tells VentureBeat. However, Instagram reportedly did not sign the offer, said to … Read more

Facebook's $1B Instagram deal: $300M in cash, rest in stock

In its amended S-1 filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Facebook breaks down the details of its $1 billion purchase of Instagram earlier this month, revealing that it's paying $300 million in cash and the rest in stock.

The basic terms of the deal had been reported by The New York Times, but now we see the official numbers. In addition to the $300 million in cash, Facebook is paying 23 million shares of common stock, valued at $30.89. All told, that comes to about $1 billion -- although the value will vary depending on what … Read more

Andreessen Horowitz banks 312-times return on Instagram

Andreessen Horowitz stands to make about $78 million off an initial investment of $250,000 in Instagram, a partner in the investment firm revealed today in a blog responding to criticism that the investment firm "fumbled" its involvement in the photo-sharing app.

The New York Times ignited controversy earlier this week when it published a story that profiled how the VC firm "fumbled" its investment in Instagram, which was just purchased by Facebook for $1 billion, by investing in rival photo-sharing app PicPlz. The investment in PicPlz "was a calculated bet against Instagram and it … Read more

Instagram follows Tumblr, Pinterest; bans self-harm posts

Instagram, the popular online photo-sharing service that was recently bought by Facebook for $1 billion, is banning images and accounts that condone "self-harm" behavior such as eating disorders, cutting oneself, or committing suicide.

In a blog post Friday, the company said the following:

Going forward, we won't allow accounts, images, or hashtags dedicated to glorifying, promoting, or encouraging self-harm. Should users come across content of that nature, we recommend flagging the photo or flagging the user as a "Terms of Service" violation for our Support team to review. It is important to note that this … Read more

Judging Java: Google and Oracle go to court

week in review Oracle's Java patent and copyright lawsuit against Google and its Android mobile operating system kicked off this week with some familiar faces taking the witness stand.

Oracle attorney David Boies began his arguments by focusing on a particular presentation on July 25, 2005, listing "Must take license from Sun" as one of the bullet points of the agenda. Google CEO Larry Page, who testified via his video deposition, was essentially questioned about whether this presentation was written and led by Andy Rubin, senior vice president of mobile at Google (aka the father of Android), … Read more

Apple, Instagram, and corporate paranoia

commentary I find it remarkable that despite using a service for months and enjoying what it has to offer, one would cease using one of the most popular smartphone applications on the mobile market this year, simply because it expanded its service to a rival platform.

That is, unless you're an Apple senior vice-president and your job is to market the iOS platform in the best possible light to the hundreds of millions of potential new customers.

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice-president for marketing did exactly that, apparently confirmed by a direct message to a Twitter user, seen … Read more

Why Instagram just made the lives of Facebook's IPO bankers a lot easier

Besides the 13 lucky engineers working at Instagram, another group lucked out when Mark Zuckerberg decided it would be a good idea to plunk down $1 billion to buy the company: the bankers charged with drumming up interest in Facebook's (presumably monster) IPO.

While the SEC has yet to bless Facebook's S-1, its lead bankers at Morgan Stanley are apparently already out there selling the story to big institutional investors to fill out what's known as the "order book" -- a commitment by mutual funds and other biggies to buy a certain number of shares. … Read more