(CNN) -- If you've seen "The Social Network" or taken a few minutes to really look at your Facebook page, you may have started to figure out that what you get out of Facebook and what Facebook gets out of you are very different things. As a MetaFilter commenter once said, "If you're not paying for something, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold." This week, Facebook acquired the hugely popular 2-year-old photo-sharing site Instagram, paying an astounding $1 billion. Even though it was available only on Apple devices until last week, Instagram has attracted 30 million users who upload about 5 millions photos every day. With its filters and other features, Instagram helped make amateur photography a lot better-looking.
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Facebook acquired the popular photo-sharing site Instagram for $1 billion
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Andrew Mayer: Deal will gain Facebook users and a stronger hook in the mobile market
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He says the real use of Instagram is to help Facebook grow its advertising revenue
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Mayer: It's a smart move for Facebook to try to create a more personal marketing experience
Like it or not, brands are something that have been deeply integrated into the fabric of our lives (as has @placeholder).