

The dangers of relying on startup steroids - cienrak
http://www.theverge.com/2012/5/3/2993999/pinterest-burn-facebook-open-graph-startup-steroids

======
vergent
I don't know if OMGPOP integrated with Open Graph, but there story is
certainly similar.

A mobile app powered largely by Facebook interactions takes off like a rocket
ship. In less than month is adds so many millions of users that it gets bought
for $180 million dollars.

A company that was in the red is suddenly worth a ton of cash. Cut to a few
weeks later, and Draw Something is shedding users like water off a duck's
back.

[http://www.betabeat.com/2012/05/02/draw-something-decline-
om...](http://www.betabeat.com/2012/05/02/draw-something-decline-omg-pop-
zynga-05022012/)

~~~
cube13
Honestly, I wonder what would have happened if any other company bought them
instead of Zynga. I imagine that it wouldn't be dropping users quite as
quickly.

It still would drop users, because the game itself isn't that deep. But I
don't think it would be shedding users nearly as much as they are currently.

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marcusf
I think I miss the part where Pinterest got burned by Facebook? Seems like
engagement just dropped off (and to far higher levels than pre-FB). How's that
Facebook's fault in any way?

~~~
vergent
Facebook shut down a big component of their Open Graph integration: the spammy
auto-publishing. The decline followed shortly after.
<https://twitter.com/#!/rabois/status/194259967816105984>

~~~
marcusf
I must've completely missed that. Thanks!

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benologist
TheVerge writing content for HN is not a good sign.

~~~
brooknam
Why is that?

~~~
benologist
Because they're a rag and if they're allowed to get a foothold here we'll get
more of their sleazy summary spam too. If cloning Engadget's not enough for
them tough shit.

~~~
bryanlarsen
The Verge does lots of summaries, but that doesn't make them sleazy. They
would be sleazy if they failed to produce lots of good original content. They
would be sleazy if their summaries weren't clearly marked as such. They would
be sleazy if they didn't properly attribute & link their sources.

The Verge tries to be the best single source for gadget news, and they're
succeeding, in my opinion.

Also, the creators of the Verge should be lauded for leaving AOL rather then
being scorned for "cloning".

