Instagram and Facebook, partners in crime?

Facebook, a place where people spend way too much time. A phenomenon which has provided various new methods and ways for communication and even marketing. Social media marketing is outrageously popping into your eyes whether we like it, or not. For marketers, whats there not to like? Its cheap, its worldwide, its easy. The thing is that Facebook is here to stay, I wont argue with that, but are there any potential competitors for this Lord of communication? Yes there was.  Instagram has been growing its popularity in an outrageous speed. People are uploading photos of their everyday life and getting a glimpse of life of others ( who they dare to follow). In Instagram, you dont have to be friends, just think of a celebrity who you would wish to follow and do that among the 3000K other people. More and more even companies from different industries are joining this innovative platform and sharing pictures of their work related daily moments . But what did Instagram do at the very beginning of its journey? Joined up with Facebook! Alright, there might have been a sound of *ka-ching* there, but a major opportunity to compete with the powerful Facebook had been tossed to a bin.   Do we agree of do we disagree?

Of course, some people use Instagram only in its premises, but there is a quite a big bunch of people who are eager to press the 'Share in Facebook' button. The question is, could Instagram had survived without the integration with Facebook? Would it be more powerful as its own independent platform of visual communication and interaction? And finally, is Instagram here to stay? At the moment it seems to be a big hit, but will it eventually be a miss?