Instagram Web Profiles: 5 Key Facts

Instagram isn't just for smartphones anymore. Instagram recently announced that, by popular demand, Instagram Profiles will be available on the Web.

What's an Instagram Web Profile, you ask? Here are five things you should know about them:

1. An Instagram Web Profile is a kind of Facebook/Pinterest-looking page that showcases you, via a bio, and your most recently shared photographs.

2. Instagram Profiles will let you follow users, comment on and like photos, and edit your profile directly from the Web.

3. Instagram said the Profiles will let people more easily be found and find other users. You can search on people's Profiles using the convention instagram.com/username.

4. If you have configured your photos as private, only those whom you have authorized will be able to see them on the Web. If your photos are currently public, they will be public on the Web.

5. You will not be able to upload photos from the Web. Instagram says in its blog that it is "focused on the production of photos from mobile devices so users are not currently able to upload from the Web. We're excited about how Web Profiles will make it easier to browse and share content on the Web for all our users."

We're guessing that will change as soon as enough people complain about it.

Why should your business care? Well, Instragram has more than 100 million users, and its popularity -- like that of fellow image-heavy social application Pinterest -- is steadily rising. Instagram co-founder Kevin Systom said at the GigaOm Roadmap conference this week that users uploaded more than 800,000 photos of Hurricane Sandy using the hashtag #Sandy. "Sandy was the largest event to take place and be captured on Instagram," said Systrom at the conference.

Facebook certainly thinks highly of Instagram: It purchased the photo sharing company for about $1 billion in a deal that closed in September.

Instragram Web Profiles are expected to be rolled out next week.

Is your company making use of Instagram? Or are you thinking, "Not another social network I have to keep on top of!" Let us know in this comments section below.Follow Deb Donston-Miller on Twitter at @debdonston.