We have heard the rumors of how Facebook (and Google) had at one point in time attempted to acquire Snapchat, only to be turned down as Snapchat thought that they were worth more than what Facebook and Google were offering. We then heard the rumors that Instagram, owned by Facebook, was looking to introduce a private messaging feature to its services in a bid to compete with Snapchat. Kind of like if we can’t have you, we’ll compete with you. Now we’re not sure if this is a coincidence, but it seems that Emily White, a Facebook executive who was in charge of luring advertisers to Instagram, has left her position and will be taking up a new post at Snapchat as its COO.
Instagram did not seem too upset that she was leaving for what seemed like a potential rival, with Instagram’s CEO and co-founder, Kevin Systrom, saying, “I cannot thank Emily enough for her contributions to Instagram. She was tasked with getting the first ads.” White herself was quoted as saying, “It happened really quickly, but to have an actual COO role in one of many companies that is disrupting the communications arena is one I could not pass up.” Given that all these companies recently made the headlines, it’s hard to think of this as a mere coincidence.