It has since changed the proposed terms and conditions (see here), but this highlights two things. Firstly, that the photos you take on your phone and upload to Instagram might actually have a value. There are people and companies that are willing to buy them for commercial use. Secondly, that Instagram realises this, but wants them for free so it can make lots of money for itself. It sees the photos you upload as a resource to be exploited. Instagram may have backtracked on the proposed changed and we are OK for now, but you can see the direction the service wants to take. Maybe it will not happen right now, but some time in the future it may try to change things again.
Foap, which isn't as well known as Instagram has a different perspective. It is very similar to Instagram in that you can take photos with your iPhone and upload them to the service where they are stored online. People can follow you, you can follow them, you can view great photos people have posted, and so on.
The big difference though, is that if someone wants to use a photo, such as a person, company or advertiser, then they must pay for for it. Foap is not only a photo sharing social networking service, it is also a photo marketplace where people can go and buy the right to use an image.
This isn't a get-rich-quick scheme and you aren't going to make huge amounts of money from it. However, if you are lucky you might make a bit. Mainly though, it means that you aren't going to be seeing your photos appear in someone's advert or billboard next to the road without your knowledge or being paid.
Check it out, go and get Foap for the iPhone. An Android version is promised too, although there's no release date scheduled yet.
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