While it’s common knowledge that Facebook recently purchased Instagram for $1 billion quite quickly, it has now been revealed that Google was never interested in the photo sharing platform in the first place, according to Google’s VP of Corporate Development and M&A David Lawee.

Lawee told Business Insider, “We fundamentally have a different strategy around Google+ and social (than Facebook). What’s necessary for us is different than what’s necessary for them.” There you have it. One reason for this might lie in the fact that Google+ users generally don’t seem to post 83 pictures of what their cousin’s cat ate for breakfast repeatedly, at all times, like some Facebook users do. On a social level, Google’s platform still appears to maintain a feel of exclusivity and insightful content, which Facebook somewhat lacks. Perhaps Google+ deemed it didn’t need Instagram to become more like Pinterest, “socially,” like Facebook did.

Lawee also commented on Pinterest, calling it a “phenomenon that is extraordinary,” when citing some of the problems Google+ faces with video content. Pinterest has recently added the option to pin Vimeo clips, along with YouTube content. Pinterest is presently the third most popular social media site on the internet, making Lawee’s use of the word “phenomena” in describing it sound apt, though interestingly, there have been reports that the photo sharing network is beginning to lose users – though some speculate that its plainly experiencing growing pains, as early adopters hip to new trends are going away, and that its user base will level out.