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posts about #acquisitions more →
How the Times Sabotages Its Own Tech Innovation
How a 'Made' Startup Was Clipped
Nikki Finke Does a Deal With Mail.com
Could Apple Buy Twitter?
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Why Amazon.com Should Buy Digg
Facebook Really Did Try to Buy Twitter
CEO's $500,000 Salary Burns Startup Into Fire Sale

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Nelson Fartzenkraps
09/29/09

In reply to How the Times Sabotages Its Own Tech Innovation
still no reply from gallagher? try reminding him that, back when he was a vassar coed, the campus newspaper dubbed him ‘hypocrite of the month’…
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insidefb
08/20/09

In reply to How a 'Made' Startup Was Clipped
iLike was propped up by its nepotistic relationship with Facebook -- Ali and Hadi's relationships with Sandberg are well known. She used her influence to make them a "Great App" and what happens to them? They get bought by MySpace. Now MySpace owns Facebook's Great App.
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prsiii
08/18/09

In reply to How a 'Made' Startup Was Clipped
structuring a company for flipping (as is typically the unsaid case of those businesses who lack an obvious revenue channel) dooms it to failure if it does not create a direct threat for those businesses that do have such a channel.

First question that any investor should ask: What is your business model? Second question: What is your exit strategy? Unless both have practical answers that are easy to understand...hey, I've got this great thing you should get in on!
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snugbug
08/18/09

@prsiii: iLike's business pitch to the investors must have been, "Hey, we're're just like Last.fm. Except lamer. And with less than half the number of registered users. Please invest in us, we are the future."
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Edited by snugbug at 08/18/09 9:32 PM snugbug was starred snugbug was unstarred

Mad Due to No More Bonnets
08/18/09

In reply to How a 'Made' Startup Was Clipped
First of all, I loved it. Quick question though, are they panicked about the fire, or are they being brave for everyone else?
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badasscat
08/18/09

In reply to How a 'Made' Startup Was Clipped
Bubble 2.0.

A lot of the exact same mentality as in 1999. People who don't know jack about either the web or basic consumer behavior predicting wild successes from business models that don't really exist, the companies being espoused getting caught up in all that praise themselves, but neither consumers nor revenue ever really developing. And in hindsight, it's always obvious. "Who the hell would even think you could make money off a Facebook widget??"

It still amazes me that so many people look at companies like this, see that they are trying to do something that's popular in real life somewhere on the internet and therefore think they've got it made. Hey, lots of people eat too, so maybe I'll be the Facebook Farmer. I'll have a farm and put it on Facebook. I should be a billionaire, right? It's automatic!
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TriedandTrue
08/18/09

@badasscat: I agree with you on most your statement. However, there has to be a link between User-populated content and advertising dollars. The first designer that can bridge that gap in a social network type of forum wins the game.
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Richard Blakeley
08/18/09

In reply to How a 'Made' Startup Was Clipped
I was just saying earlier to a few of our Gizmodo guys, "Hey remember when Facebook widgets and apps were the shit? What ever happened to those things?"

I guess the answer was nothing, back to my twitter follow me if you'd like @blakeley LOLZ!
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Jason McCabe Calacanis
08/18/09

@blakeley: What happened to them was they were way to effective and they were put on page two of your Facebook profile. Now the only ones that really are scaling are casual games from Zynga.... how long before Facebook buys that company--or launches their own games--is anyone's guess.

There is only one platform you should trust your business on: the interwebs. Building a business on Facebook or the iPhone is a recipe for disaster.
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Say that is cool
08/18/09

In reply to How a 'Made' Startup Was Clipped
Boy! Jemaine has really been working out.
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Uncle_Billy_Slumming
08/18/09

In reply to How a 'Made' Startup Was Clipped
Sure, but if you're slick and quick you can put a few million bucks away before it all comes crashing down.
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FaceMelter
08/18/09

@Uncle_Billy_Slumming: Look at Ev. That guy is the greatest gigolo the valley has ever seen.
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The Lone Scout
08/18/09

In reply to How a 'Made' Startup Was Clipped
Web two-point-no.
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Clarence Rosario
05/05/09

In reply to Could Apple Buy Twitter?
@ADismalScience: Except as a web application, MobileMe is garbage. The webmail interface itself is completely useless, and unacceptable as a paid service.

As much as I hate twitter, if it helps Apple invest in even mainline web apps, it might be worthwhile. However, the $700MM price tag is 1998-style nutso.
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ADismalScience
05/05/09

In reply to Could Apple Buy Twitter?
I'd peg the success likelihood of this acquisition somewhere between AOL bad and YouTube bad.
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ADismalScience
05/05/09

In reply to Could Apple Buy Twitter?
Isn't this an obvious mobileme integration point? Twitter will never make money unless it's tied to some other subscription service, right? Mobileme's lack of buzz could change in a heartbeat with a twitter acquisition.
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Nicholas Carlson
05/05/09

In reply to Could Apple Buy Twitter?
Owen, you forgot to the write the part where you say this rumor is complete bullshit.
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DennyCrane
05/05/09

In reply to Could Apple Buy Twitter?
/head asplode
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Mayor McRib
05/05/09

In reply to Could Apple Buy Twitter?
I don't believe that Apple would buy Twitters developers for 700 million cash. I'm not saying that they are not making an offer to Twitter but it's not for the reasons that you are stating. Why dump that much money into something that won't be profitable? Giving that much money would make these web developers rich and probably would have less inclination to work with Apple especially if they just got a huge paycheck. It would be much easier to just offer them insane salaries to come work for Apple instead of buying the company. Also, Apple is only making 30% off those Twitter iPhone apps, not as much money as you think. There is way more to this than we think, I have a feeling Twitter will become integrated with MobileMe and become something completely different.
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