Instagram Removes Twitter Integration

Instagram this week removed a Twitter integration feature that allows images to appear in the Twitter newsfeed. According to the Financial Times, this move means Facebook now has more control of Instagram’s visual content. Before famously being bought by Facebook for US $1 billion earlier this year, Instagram used Twitter Cards, a feature of the website that renders images so that they appear properly on the Twitter stream.

Users began reporting the issue to Twitter earlier this week when they noticed images weren’t appearing correctly. Explaining the issues surrounding it, Twitter said in a official blog post, Wednesday that users were “experiencing issues with viewing Instagram photos on Twitter. Issues include cropped images.” This was because Instagram shut off its Twitter integration, the company said. “As a result, photos are being displayed using a pre-cards experience. So, when users click on Tweets with an Instagram link, photos appear cropped.”

Meanwhile, CNET reports that Instagram CEO Keith Systrom explained at the LeWeb conference that the decision to remove Twitter Cards was a business one. “Really it’s about where do you go to consume that image, to interact with that image. We want that to be on Instagram,” Systrom said “What we realized over time is we really needed to have an awesome web presence.”

This latest move by Instagram comes at a time of heightened tension between Facebook and Twitter. Brands and marketers will likely be concerned, as those using the app in social media campaigns will see traffic driven away from their Twitter pages. However, Instagram will still work normally on Tumblr, Facebook, and Foursquare, while Twitter images will now appear as a text link to the app’s website. Brand pages on these networks using Instagram will continue functioning as normal.

Photosource: Wikimedia Commons

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Category: Business