Apple’s marketing honcho Phil Schiller quits Instagram because it went to Android

If you couldn’t believe those hipsters quitting Instagram just because it sold out to Facebook for a staggering $1 billion, wait ’till you hear this.

Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president, apparently quit Instagram because the photo sharing service recently expanded to Android.

It’s hardly a surprise, if you think of it. Schiller, a prominent figure in Apple’s public presentations, has been a member of the company’s executive leadership team since Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997.

Being in charge of worldwide marketing at Apple and an active Twitter user, Schiller would be foolish to continue supporting a hugely popular service that up until recently used to be an iOS exclusive…
That must have hurt Schiller’s feelings.

According to a post over at 9to5Mac, a reader has discovered that Schiller deleted his @schiller account on Instagram. The executive clarified the decision in a private message to the reader, saying he quit the immensely popular photo sharing service because:

It “jumped the shark” then it went to Android.

Not much to be said about this, with the exception that Schiller is no ordinary user.

Being one of the public faces of Apple and a high-ranked executive in charge of marketing means moves like this are always scrutinized and send a certain message.

Contrast this to a pair of his earlier tweets that clearly promoted Instagram.

Philip Schiller
✔@pschiller “@therealpavell: @pschiller Hi! What iPhone apps do you use to edit your photos?” > Aperture on Mac. Best Camera and Instagram on iPhone.
8 Dec 10 ReplyRetweetFavorite

Philip Schiller
✔@pschiller Congrats to @foofighters @instagram and all the iTunes Rewind 2011 winners! (btw: @schiller on Instagram ;->)
9 Dec 11 ReplyRetweetFavorite
To me, the message is loud and clear: iPhone users, stop supporting Instagram, our app of the year!

Dunno.

Maybe I’m overblowing this, but this is my take.

What’s yours?

Should have Schiller stayed an Instagram user regardless of the fact the service expanded to Android?