9781422277294

Tech 2.0

Who Let the Dogs Out? S ocial media has always been a popular domain for cute pet photos, so it’s no surprise that the very first picture ever posted on Instagram was of a dog. On July 16, 2010, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom posted a photo of a golden retriever looking up at the camera. Systrom was literally the first

of millions to post dog pictures on Instagram. Not only are there tons of dog photos on Instagram, there are plenty of dogs with their own In- stagram accounts—and some have even become famous. Maru Taro (@Marutaro on In- stagram) has 2.6 million followers! Maru Taro is a fluffy Shiba Inu pooch

who lives in Japan and has been posting photos of himself (okay, it’s proba- bly his owner who is posting the photos) and has become the most popular dog on Instagram. In fact, a recent survey in Japan revealed that Maru Taro has the second-most popular Instagram account in all of Japan, behind Jap- anese movie star Kiko Mizuhara. almost feels as if taking pictures and sharing them is a prerequi- site for owning a smartphone. What’s amazing is that the founders of Instagram didn’t originally set out to create the world’s most popular photo-shar- ing app. Before Instagram became Instagram, sharing photos was just one small feature of an app that was more about loca-

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