Instagram Becomes 'Visual Language' For Hundreds Of Millions
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Instagram has reached a milestone with the number of its total users.
A top executive from the company talked to CBS this week about how some of them are changing the way we communicate.
With more than 500 million users, Instagram connects people around the world.
"We've really become this community that organizing around shared interests and shared passions," says Charles Porch, Instagram's head of global creative programs. "People are really forming these really strong ties and it keeps propelling the community forward and it's really helping the growth on the platform."
The company even convinced Pope Francis to create an account.
"We went to the Pope and said we really think Instagram could be a great tool for you and when we went in for the conversation with the folks at the Vatican," Porch says. "They really understood that Instagram is a new visual language"
Porch reaffirms the social networks commitment to fight online abuse:
"We really want Instagram to be a safe place. We want it to be a place where you can really truly express yourself and we have new comment features that can help you control what happening in your comment section"
He also revealed the most followed accounts on the service: Selena Gomez followed by Taylor Swift.
Facebook purchased Instagram in 2012 for a reported $1 billion. This year, the popular photo and video sharing site is expected to generate nearly $3 billion in ad revenue, according to analysts at Credit Swiss Group.