The End of an Era

This week, I read about how Instagram’s initial founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, have decided to leave their beloved creation. Back in 2012, both Systrom and Krieger were working on the development of the new photo-sharing app. Systrom had been previously offered a job at Facebook, but turned it down so he could finish his schooling, and I think that we all can say that that was a smart career choice because without doing so, we might not have had what we know today as Instagram. Systrom kept his connection with Zuckerburg, and once Instagram launched, he reached back out to him. Facebook ended up buying Instagram, and Systrom and Krieger came along for the ride. They got credit for it’s creation of course, but they also didn’t have to put all the elbow grease into perfecting and enhancing the app. They got to sit and watch more than actually figuring out how to make this the new popular app to hang out on. Fast forward six years and the creators have decided to leave. They claim that right now Instagram is still hot, cool, popular, and thriving, and that is great, but at some point they will become old news, so it is better to get out now while things are still looking great. They get the credit for the creation and if something bad happens, it won’t be on their watch.

The Xbox game, Halo, saw a similar situation. Alex Seropian dabbled in creating computer, video games while still in college. He and a friend teamed up and started creating a lot of different role-playing games. Halo was the one that turned them from nobodies into somebodies. Microsoft liked Halo a lot. It became the first game that launched their new gaming system, the Xbox. Although Seropian left for a different reason, his game was a huge success. He went on and did a lot of other game developing for different companies, including Disney Interactive Studios. He was still very successful in his field after leaving his name making creation.

There have been different stories about how there was tension between Zuckerburg, CEO of Facebook, and Instagram’s founders, Systrom and Krieger. There has also been talk of jealousy between the creators and their apps when it comes to popularity and usage. All in all, the two founders have not said much about their departure, but they have mentioned it is now time for them to move on to their next chapter. I think that they are smart to be leaving. Nothing good lasts forever and they are leaving with class. They aren’t leaving a mess behind. They know the foundation is strong and the feel confident that their work will carry on and continue to prosper. I don’t feel that their reputations are going to be harmed from this. They aren’t being rude about leaving. They haven’t said they have become to good for Instagram or anything. It is just the perfect time for them to exit.