Well, this is huge news in the tech world today. Facebook acquires the photo app Instagram for $1 billion in cash and stock. Here is Mark Zuckerberg with the announcement:

We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.

This is the pivotal reaction from Instagram’s founders:

It’s important to be clear that Instagram is not going away. We’ll be working with Facebook to evolve Instagram and build the network. We’ll continue to add new features to the product and find new ways to create a better mobile photos experience.

Based on the above statements, the Instagram app should still remain the same. I hope that’s the case. Something I value deeply is ability to post items on Instagram unaffiliated to my Facebook timeline/stream. I feel the same way about discovering other photographers using the app.