Speaking after the launch of video for the service that made its name as a photo-sharing application, Mr Systrom claimed “no one at Facebook is telling us what to do” despite the $1 billion acquisition.
But he added that he talks to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg “every other day” and said that “sharing of views on the market and how we fit into it is very productive.”
He claimed Facebook's additional resources had strengthened Instagram's service and allowed it to triple its staff.
Mr Systrom announced the launch of video for Instagram on the site’s blog last night. He said the new feature offered “a really powerful way of looking at what we’re doing beyond just photography – we want people to capture the moments in their daily life. We hope to do what we did for photos on videos and that’s to make it simple, fast and beautiful.”
He claimed that where rival services, such as Twitter’s Vine, offer just seven second video clips, the 15 seconds offered by Instagram would allow users to capture more moments that will appear “as they remember them” on playback.
Mr Systrom said that many users didn’t record video because sharing was too complicated, thanks to large files stuck on memory cards. He claimed Instagram’s simplicity would be key to the service’s success, in combination with filters to improve the appearance of the clips. "Video stays hidden because it’s a big file and when you do share it it’s typically not nearly as beautiful as the moments you remember in your head,” he said.
The launch of video for Instagram is something the service has been planning since even before it was called Instagram, Mr Systrom said.
The original, much more multi-faceted service called Burbn, which allowed users to take photos of places they checked in to, was also slated to have video, but the feature was dropped to allow the team to focus exclusively on a single product.
The additional resources provided by Facebook, however, allowed the addition of video, Mr Systrom claimed. “When the right pieces came together we launched it,” he said.
Mr Systrom also reiterated his commitment to staying at Instagram under Facebook. “I see Instagram as my child – it’s my job to take care of it,” he said. “So many doors have opened up. You can also ask how does Instagram’s growth and success influence Facebook.”
