If I understand your comparison, I see what you are saying and we are not quite in disagreement. Google took their hedge after seeing the video service they created fail to gather the momentum and use YouTube had. At the time it did not even compare to Vimeo and maybe even Dailymotion. So they took a hedge as things were looking like they would not get that market segment. And outside of YouTube dying that's likely what would have happened.
Facebook saw a trend in IG they couldn't compete with without fundamentally changing their product. Where IG could have created alternate complementary products and began eating onto FB market. There really isn't room for two networks like FB anymore and the adolescents I know won't touch FB. Its all snapchat and IG. (Which offer much better incentives.)
Both were moves to absorb a niche where each company would have difficulty compering. My claim is FB's was more forward thinking and less reactionary.
Facebook saw a trend in IG they couldn't compete with without fundamentally changing their product. Where IG could have created alternate complementary products and began eating onto FB market. There really isn't room for two networks like FB anymore and the adolescents I know won't touch FB. Its all snapchat and IG. (Which offer much better incentives.)
Both were moves to absorb a niche where each company would have difficulty compering. My claim is FB's was more forward thinking and less reactionary.