An off-hand leak Saturday has uncovered that Facebook's Instagram deal may have preempted one by Twitter. The New York Times had heard from multiple sources that the microupdate site had been interested in buying Instagram in the past several months. How serious it was hadn't been mentioned.
Some possibly anecdotal evidence came from Twitter co-creator Jack Dorsey's own Twitter account. Although he has often posted on Instagram, he has more recently been using Twitter's stock photo service instead. The decision might just be coincidental or a temporary break while Dorsey tests his own service.
Facebook has promised that Instagram will remain more distinct and have both its existing app and support for outside services, which should keep Twitter relevant to the service. The move still deprives of it a more advanced photo sharing option and a possible extra route for monetization for a company that has only just recently started making money through ads.
