The big story last week was Facebook’s $1 billion acquisition of Instagram. Here are some other top social media stories from last week, including Instagram backlash, Tumblr’s monetization policy, Domino’s Pizza’s Think Oven Campaign, NHL steps up social media for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Spotify ads app for brands.
 
Insta-Backlash: Twitterverse Overreacts to Facebook’s Instagram Acquisition, Users Delete Accounts
 
While most people were buzzing about Facebook’s $1 billion acquisition of Instagram, many are worried about the big data giant taking over their favorite app and are deleting their accounts. Some blogs have even posted tutorials for saving your Instagram pictures before deleting your account. This comes on the heels of the #teamiPhone tweets after the Instagram Android app was released.
 
Their concern? That Instagram will never be the same again or that Facebook will eliminate the service altogether — two things that Facebook and Instagram claim won’t happen. But even more users are concerned about privacy implications, given Facebook’s attitude towards user data, including Boing Boing’s Xeni Jardin.

Same here. WHY ZUCK WHYYYYYYY “@Pecora_: @xeni I’m pissed, Instagram is my favorite app. Actually I use it even more than twitter.”
 
— Xeni Jardin (@xeni) April 9, 2012

 
Did you delete your Instagram account after the acquisition?
 
Tumblr Tests New Tools for Users and Brands
 
Instagram may have topped the headlines last week, but Tumblr’s been making some big changes under the radar. On Wednesday, they announced a partnership with Spotify and recently announced that the micro-blogging platforms has reached 20 billion posts and 50 billion posts. The future of Tumblr lies in brands and monetization.
 
In a interview with AdAge, Tumblr’s CEO David Karp hinted at the launch of more tools for users and brands,
 

[Not] a bunch of buttons to pay for things, but we want to offer a set of nuanced creative tools for users on Tumblr. And was the right starting point.And this is not the first user-oriented promotional paid feature. There are two in production — the highlight posts and the ability to purchase and sell themes…We tested the ability to promote yourself in our directories. That was one of the most successful revenue-generating features, not only in driving traffic to our blogs but in acting as a filter on our network…

 
When asked about the long-term plan for monetization, Karp said that it lies with both brands and users. Their goal is to make the paid tools more useful and “friendly” for everybody — from design features that allow brands to promote themselves to aspiring photographers to get their name out there.
 
Behind the Scenes of Domino’s Pizza’s ‘Think Oven’ Facebook Campaign
 
A couple months ago, Domino’s Pizza landed in some hot water. Between customer complaints and employee foul-play, the company found itself doing some serious damage control. Instead of just apologizing, Domino’s opened up suggestions to their customers, asking them for ideas to make them better. Thus, the Think Oven campaign was born.
 
Think Oven is a Facebook page that gathers user’s submissions for its Projects and Ideas sections. The Projects sections is where the company receives submissions related to a specific issues, such as how to improve on a certain product. The Ideas section allows customers to submit their own thoughts on what the company should do.
 

Since launching in February, the campaign has received over 3,500 ideas. For the Project section about new uniforms, they received over 650 submissions. Domino’s rewarded the best ideas with $500 prizes.

 
NHL Steps Up Social Media for Stanley Cup Playoffs
 
The NHL has amped up its social initiatives with a comprehensive program for the Stanley Cup playoffs which started this past week. The league is using a combination of platforms to connect with fans in a way it has never done before. Among the initiatives is an official page for the Stanley Cup trophy, an app where fans can grow virtual “playoff beards” and a crowd-sourced photo project. Steve McArdle, the NHL’s senior vice president of business development and strategic planning said,
 

This year is a lot more comprehensive with more platforms and points of contact that we haven’t been a part of in the past. It’s a combination of new technologies and corporate partners who want to become more aggressive in the social space. The concept of understanding fan needs and behaviors has really evolved.

 
The league has been digitally active for years, using it as an outlet to fill with content since the league as a whole has generally been under served by traditional media. Digital also makes sense for the NHL given recent studies showing that among pro sports’, hockey fans are the most affluent, educated and tech-saavy.

 
Besides Facebook, the NHL will be allowing fans to be included into a Stanley Cup-shaped photo mosaic by tweeting photos to the @NHL Twitter account with the hashtag #BecauseitstheCup. The league will also be offering discounts at the NHL Powered by Reebox store in NYC for fans checking into the Stanley Cup fountain in Times Square on Foursquare. And among the newest ways of promoting the an event, NHL is taking advantage of the Draw Something rage and sponsoring words such as “puck,” slap shot,” “Zamboni” and “hat trick.”
 
Brands Can Now Create Their Own Spotify Apps and Playlists
 
Spotify is opening up its platform to brands and allowing them to create their own soundtracks with apps that feature custom playlists. Brands confirmed to be using the apps include AT&T, Reebok and Intel. The AT&T app will match songs to the places they where written, recorded or performed. Intel will be using the app to suggest songs based on what their Facebook friends are listening to on Spotify. Intel has been using music streaming services to spread its brand message with services such as Pandora. Other brands that have used Spotify in the past to market on the platform include Coca-Cola, Sprite, Motorola, Reebok and Chevrolet.
 

 
Since brands are not charged to build apps on the service, Spotify hopes the new apps service will attract brands to spend more money on ads. The music streaming service needs the ad money after paying over $300 million to record labels for licensing fees which it can’t expect listeners to cover.
 
Other social media articles from last week that you may enjoy: