So in the last two weeks, Instagram has been making serious moves. First, they opened their arms to the throngs of Android users, forcing iPhone users to (gulp)….share. And now yesterday, it was announced that Instagram and Facebook got hitched. Many aren’t taking the double whammies too well and are looking for the nearest exit.
Now, personally, I like Instagram and don’t care who they are married to. I am still getting use to the ‘new kids on the block’ befriending me, but I will deal. However, I know that not everyone wants to deal with a crowded relationship. (If three is a crowd, I wonder what four is.) So here is some advice on some other alternatives.
Hipstamatic
 Considered the OG in the vintage filter world, Hipstamatic has been around this long for a reason. It works. It gives you that real-time vintage feel and allows you to swap lenses, flashes and films for hundreds of different effects. Like most, you can share with other social networking sites, including your soon to be ex. You get what you pay for and for $2, you are getting quite a lot with this app. Retro Camera Plus
 So you like you what Hipstamatic has to offer, but not quite feeling the price? Try Retro Camera Plus. It boasts five cameras, 5 sets of vintage vignetting and a host of other options. Best of all it is free. PicPlz
 PicPlz is a popular alternative because it mimics the social photo sharing style that many love with Instagram. You can follow friends from Twitter and Facebook, "like" and leave comments on their photos. You also have other neat features like drawing, flipping your pics, repairing redeye and adding memes. One thing that I really do like about this app is that it allows friends to like your photo and leave comments if they click your photo’s link from a pc. You can't do that with Instagram. Oh and another great thing about this app – its free! Camera+
 There are casual photographers and then there are hardcore photographers. For you hardcore photogs, this app is for you. Boasting tons of filters and editing tools, you can really get the best images out of your iPhone with this app. It cost $1 and if you put this app to the test, you will see that it is worth the price. Do you know of any more Instagram alternatives? Let us know in the comments.
What can you buy with $1 billion dollars? And island? Private jets? How about a very popular up and coming social networking app? Yup, for a cool $1 billion dollars in cash and stock, Facebook has bought out Instagram. Mark Zuckerburg minutes ago on his Facebook page made an announcement regarding the acquisition: I'm excited to share the news that we've agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.
For years, we've focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we'll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.
We believe these are different experiences that complement each other. But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram's strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.
That's why we're committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.
We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.
These and many other features are important parts of the Instagram experience and we understand that. We will try to learn from Instagram's experience to build similar features into our other products. At the same time, we will try to help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook's strong engineering team and infrastructure.
This is an important milestone for Facebook because it's the first time we've ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don't plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.
We're looking forward to working with the Instagram team and to all of the great new experiences we're going to be able to build together.
Many have long ago said that Instagram was a threat to Facebook..and this was when it was an iPhone-only application. Now that it has opened up their doors to Android users, that only sweetens the deal.
Ticked off at her parents for making her do chores to complain about the hardships of life, a young teenage girl took to Facebook to talk about how she felt. Laced with curse words and derogatory comments, the teen told her friends how she felt in an open letter to her parents. What she didn't count on happening though was that after spending half of his day upgrading her pc, her father, Tommy Jordan, was going to stumble upon her Dear Dad post. After reading the disturbing open letter his daughter posted on Facebook, the North Carolina dad took to another social media website, YouTube and posted his video response. Do you think the father went to the extreme? Or are you team .45 and want to donate more bullets to the cause? How do you feel about the family using social media to air their dirty laundry? Personally, I would have been more fired up had this been a MacBook..just saying.
 "Top of the Morning" to everyone. It's Wednesday morning and GWG is bringing you the Top of the Morning segment where we take a look at what's making tech buzz around the internet. Here is what's trending in tech news today....
- Apple is planning an invasion… into your living room.
- Yesterday, we told you that Microsoft believes Google is a liar…. and the US Government agrees.
- Walmart’s Vudu is now available at your nearest web browser. - Final Cut Pro gets an upgrade.
- Face-off over who really found Facebook gets heated.
 "Top of the Morning" to everyone. Let me be the first to welcome you to Friday! While you are here, GWG wants to bring you the latest on what's going on in today's tech news.Take a look at whats trending today...
- Check Out Google Latitude New Check-In Deals.
- Adobe Flash Is to Blame for Blackberry Playbook Late Release Date. - TWC and Viacom Seeking Lawsuits Over iPad App. - Facebook Teams up with Tech’s Biggest Companies; Wants to get in on Computer Hardware.
Do you know the current national threat level? Facebook and Twitter will soon alert you. Recently, Homeland Security announced that they will be replacing the current Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS) with a new National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS). It will be more effective in communicating the threat level by providing timely, detailed information to the public. Associated Press obtained a Homeland Security plan draft which noted that starting April 27th, two new warnings will replace the color-coded system - Elevated and Imminent. Some warnings will be withheld altogether, if the government deems it too risky for US spies or their operation to announce a terror threat. The new system also has plans to use Facebook and Twitter as a means to alert the public, but only when it “is appropriate and only after federal, state and local officials have been notified.” What are your thoughts on the new system? Do you feel that it will be more effective than the color-coded system? Sound off now. By the way… the United States government's national threat level is Elevated, or Yellow. For all domestic and international flights, the U.S. threat level is High, or Orange.
 "Top of the Morning" to everyone. Today is Thursday April 7th and we can see the weekend on the horizon. In the meantime, GWG is bringing you the latest on what's up in today's tech news. So read on below to get a look at today's trending topics...
- Google to spend on $100 million on original programming on YouTube - Samsung says definite yes to Galaxy S II April Launch…at least in some places - Mad about Mad Men? Netflix’s got you covered. - LinkedIn introduces Facebook-like platform...we highly ‘Recommend”.
 "Top of the Morning" to everyone. Today is Friday, March 18th. Congratulations, you have made to end of the week! We are going to start the Friday off right and bring to you the latest in tech news and the topics that are getting the biggest buzz. Here are today's trending stories...
- Facebook comes in Beta form to Blackberry 2.0 . - Check In and get flight status for Delta flights on Facebook. - Military to creating fake online identities to promote Pro-American Propaganda. - Google gives 20% to Japan crisis. HAPPY FRIDAY!!!
 To many Facebook is a lot of things. To one 15 year old, it is a life saver. It was 2 a.m. early Friday morning, in St. Paul, MN and a 15 year old suddenly heard his mother’s voice, screaming and pleading for help. Kelly Heinl, 33, was allegedly being beating by her boyfriend, Reggie LeAndrew Hart. According to the criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County District Court, The boy’s mother, Heinl, went out Thursday evening with some friends. The boyfriend allegedly ‘tracked her down and forced her to come home’. Before they even came in the house, the boy can already hear screaming and arguing coming from outside. After entering the house, Heinl showed her son a clump of hair that Hart had ripped from her scalp. After she was pushed onto the bed, Heinl, begged her son to call police, but Hart had already confiscated both their cell phones. Using quick thinking, the boy persuaded Hart to give his phone back by telling him that he had to charge his phone for school the next day. Wanting to remain quiet for fear that his mom’s attacker would hear, instead of calling 911, he turn to the popular social networking site for help. His words? “Would somebody please call 911 - my mom's boyfriend won't let her use the phone", followed with, "This is serious." Fortunately, one of his friends saw the post, and immediately called the police who responded. Authorities came and arrested Hart who claimed that Heinl had been drunk and denied any wrongdoing. In 1998, Hart was convicted of murdering his cousin who, in a strange twist, was also the father of the 15-year old. Heinl said of her son, "I'm very proud of him. I don't know that I would necessarily have thought of that."
Well we are on Facebook and we do Twitter too! And all this month long if you Follow or Like us on Facebook or Twitter, you could very well be our next winner of our iTunes Gift card Giveaway. We are in the second week and a name will be chosen this Friday. It is very easy to win, as our first winner Jahsheba B. found out. And don't forget to share in the excitement, tell your friends and family too so they can get the chance to win as well. And because we like to keep you in suspense, a name will be announced on Monday, March 21st.
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