Yesterday, Instagram launched web profiles. To some, they’re lovely. To others, they’re long overdue. And to a great many, they’re ho-hum — an obvious way to inject yet another zinger about Facebook buying the startup for a billion dollars (but actually *only* $700-something million — ZING!).
To me, these profiles are actually a very clear window into why Facebook would spend so much money to acquire Instagram. These profiles realize the unfulfilled vision of Facebook’s Timeline feature and perhaps take it a step further.