Reimplementing it would take time, and as with any large software project, there's no guarantee of success. How much do you think Google spent on G+, between w

Reimplementing it would take time, and as with any large software project, there's no guarantee of success. How much do you think Google spent on G+, between wages, acquihires, and the like? Would it not have made more sense had they just bought facebook? G+ is still a nascent, fragile, pseudo-success. Facebook was proven and growing when Google made their offer. Facebook could have remade Instagram, but there's no guarantee users would like it. Instead, now they have Instagram, its users, its growth, and its cachet; they've solved the photosharing hole in their app in one fell swoop. Sometimes it's better to pay more for a sure thing. Plus, they got 12 new employees, so it's really only about $83MM each...