

Marissa Mayer Makes First Yahoo Acquisition: Stamped - kine
http://mashable.com/2012/10/25/yahoo-acquires-stamped/

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revelation
Great. Hiring your buddies by acquihiring their failing iPhone app startup.

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webwright
Way to add to the conversation.

Hiring your "buddies" is WAY lower risk that acqui-hiring strangers. They are
a known quantity AND they have enough loyalty that they probably won't bolt
the instant they are able. They'll also probably work harder for you than the
average acquihire.

This is how the world works-- and it makes sense. It isn't just bullshit "who
you know rather than what you know". Moral of the story is that you should
kick ass, work hard, and make friends with executives-- it'll give you an
alternative to startup-death when YOUR startup fails.

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iand
All you say is correct, even down to the "it's who you know line", but I
disagree that we should exploit it or even tolerate it. It's just Cronyism
(<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronyism>) and my personal moral compass
rejects it.

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webwright
If you were looking for a job, would you call up the people you know or dive
into the classifieds? When you hire a contractor, would you go with someone
you know or a stranger? Relationships and social proof make the world go
round. There's certainly a spectrum here-- but don't throw the baby out with
the bathwater.

~~~
iand
You miss my point. Cronyism is being hired for who you are, not what you know.

In answer to your question I would call up the people I know but I would
expect them to only hire me if I brought the right skills.

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kurtvarner
Stamp's blog post about the deal: <http://stamped.com/learn-more>

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stevewilhelm
Wondering why a talented group of developers that left one large Silicon
Valley-based search company to form a startup would work for another large
Silicon Valley search/media company.

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mlchild
Stamped was a very well-designed, well-thought-out app, but its failure to
take off proves no one has cracked the "anti-yelp" recommendation app yet.
Someone's going to figure it out.

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lincolnq
Stamped was an awesome (and beautiful) product. Sad to see it go.

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phodo
As an alternative, I created wishtunes.com plus iOS app a few years ago back
in 2009. Check it out. Happy to provide coupons so you don't have to pay for
it.

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smegel
It's great they are putting mobile at the forefront of their strategic
direction.

I don't think Yahoo's web presence can be salvaged - they have just fallen too
far behind Google, Facebook, and the multitude of other leading social
platforms.

But mobile is a chance for Yahoo to reset it's identity, it's brand, it's UI,
it's relationship to users. It has a chance to become cool again.

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amorphid
That doesn't have to be true. It's still quite possible to build a website
that grows to be huge. Although I would agree it's unlikely someone will build
a portal-style site that displaces a Facebook or Google.

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snuze
Congratulations to the Stamped team and good luck to Yahoo.

On another topic, has anyone else noticed Marissa's hands in that photo?

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bluetidepro
> " _On another topic, has anyone else noticed Marissa's hands in that photo?_
> "

WHAT THE. Here is a zoomed in screenshot: <http://bluetide.pro/j6ch> \- What
the heck is going on there? Bad Photoshop?

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ktsmith
The screwed up fingers are probably bad photoshopping/artifacts around the
rings she wears on her left hand.

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reinhardt
What's up with this infatuation with Marissa Mayer? I don't remember reading
about "Mark Zuckerberg acquiring Instagram" or "Steve Ballmer buying Yammer".
Sheesh.

EDIT: Wow that was quick, three downvotes in less than five minutes. Must have
missed the memo that she's the new Steve Jobs, or something.

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TallGuyShort
Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Ballmer didn't take the helm at dying companies with
the expectation that they alone would lead a significant change. Facebook and
Mark Zuckerberg have always been fairly synonymous. Yahoo and Marissa Meyer -
not so.

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stevoski
Dying company? How so?

