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tbh is obviously a trendy app with a short shelf life. Based on the descriptions, I don't think it should last much longer than the 'Yo' app.

There is definitely something wrong about Facebook using its position of power to buy up crappy companies for millions without suffering any ramifications whatsoever.

It's definitely costing shareholders something but the sheer power and inertia of Facebook means that the loss is imperceptible in the grand scheme of things. Facebook really can print money out of thin air it seems.

I actually think that if Facebook did not buy Instagram or WhatsApp; both of them would have died out. Even Kevin Systrom alluded to this when he was asked if he regretted selling Instagram to Facebook. Just wait and see what will happen with Snap... Assuming Facebook doesn't buy it.

It looks like Zuckerberg never makes bad deals but I think that it's just the inertia of Facebook that makes it impossible for a deal to go bad.

Whenever I read about a Facebook acquisition, I roll my eyes because it tends to be very random... And yet it seems to always work out.

Even the software tools and frameworks that Facebook pushes out are instant runaway successes. Even Google doesn't compete on that field despite having much more experience in this area... And as a developer, I think that Google tools and frameworks are better too.




> Whenever I read about a Facebook acquisition, I roll my eyes because it tends to be very random... And yet it seems to always work out.

It seems to be random but it is not. Facebook stealthily uses data from mobiles to determine popular apps [0].

[0] https://outline.com/WnGGRk


I still use 'Yo'. For one very specific thing: telling my gf, who lives directly over the road, that I'm leaving the house and that I'll meet her out front. Nevertheless, there it is.


When the 20000000 other available options won't do, Yo is irreplaceable!


A hopeless romantic...


The parse.com acquisition didn't go so well.


Unless killing it off was exactly the goal. That came out more conspiracy theory than I intended, but the point is "success" is hard to measure without knowing a lot more.


WhatsApp would be around but the product would likely have had to adopt a business model by now. They were charging some people but i don’t think it was much.


Maybe Facebook just executes better than Google? Having talked to people who work at both about the languages and tools they need, it seems like Facebook is a much better environment to be a developer in.




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