Scoble wrote about Google vs. Instagr.am. I left a comment that answers your question: http://scobleizer.com/2010/11/12/why-google-cant-build-instagram/#commen

Scoble wrote about Google vs. Instagr.am. I left a comment that answers your question: http://scobleizer.com/2010/11/12/why-google-cant-build-instagram/#comment-96505351 http://scobleizer.com/2010/11/12/why-google-cant-build-insta... When you consider Google, Instagr.am and now Boutiques.com, I think that each of these products serves a very different purpose. Google's scrappy startup, innovative days are (and should) be behind it. It's not that Google shouldn't make new products, it's that the products that they focus their core business on should contribute to what has made it successful. Boutiques.com does contribute to their core product. Instagr.am does not. In order for Google to keep pioneering, they need to increase their investment in startups. By extending the company through investment rather than core products, the company will allow startups to move quickly while improving their core product incrementally.