

Fred Wilson: "Don’t be a Google/Facebook/Twitter bitch. Be your own bitch." - melvinmt
http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/23/fred-wilson-be-your-own-bitch/

======
spencerfry
I wrote an article titled "Platforms are for Suckers" back in June, 2010. Fred
jumped in the comments and wrote:

<http://spencerfry.com/platforms-are-for-suckers#c-2172711>

"spencer

i don't totally agree with you

clearly the web is the platform you want to be building on long term

but building on platforms can get you to scale more quickly and less
expensively than building on the open web

if you asked mark pincus if he'd have built zynga on facebook if he could
start all over, he'd say yes without even thinking about it

if you asked betaworks if they'd have built bit.ly on twitter if they could
start all over, they'd say yes without even thinking about it

if you asked howard lindzon if he'd have built stocktwits on twitter before
moving to the open web, he's say yes without even thinking about it

the trick is to understand that platforms are a means to an end not an end in
themselves"

I think his comments above may flesh out the point he made on stage (although
I didn't see the live video so I can't say for sure).

~~~
fredwilson
yup, that's my point

~~~
evangineer
So, platforms are for bootstrapping?!

------
code_duck
He doesn't leave us much of a choice, since several Fred Wilson backed
companies have (purposely, I think) soured relationships with developers -
Twitter, Etsy, probably others.

I don't really think he cares about _you_ , the external developer, as he
naturally sees it from the side of the companies who don't wish to have 3rd
party developers involved with and depending upon them. Actually, he outlined
this in a blog post: <http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2010/04/the-twitter-
platform.html> which basically told us what was coming from Twitter et al. The
attitude could also be seen as "Don't be Twitter's bitch, because Twitter
doesn't even want you".

I think it's good advice, and pretty much what one _has_ to do these days. It
would have been nice if those companies really saw their API developers as
partners, though. Things _could_ be different and there could be a really
positive symbiotic relationship going on. Instead, they're like sharecroppers,
seen as third rate clingers-on. That is how Fred sees developers I'm afraid,
and his companies' actions reflect this perspective. Really, in light of how
much API developers have contributed to many of these companies, I feel
offended.

~~~
fredwilson
remember that every company we invest in is a developer. to say that i don't
care about developers is to say i don't care about the companies we invest in.
that's clearly not true.

~~~
code_duck
I'm thinking third party, API consuming developers specifically. Not that you
don't care or dislike these people, only that there that does not appear to be
a role for API consumers in the business plans of these companies any longer.

------
iqster
I was pretty disappointed by this statement. But I guess the truth is
sometimes painful.

Even if one tries to ignore the hype, there is some grain to the truth that
Facebook and Twitter are the "operating systems" of the social web. It is hard
working on an OS that keeps taking away system calls based on monetization
efforts.

------
FiddlerClamp
What about Android and iOS, then?

~~~
fredwilson
i addressed iOS, android, facebook and twitter at the end of this talk, during
the Q&A session

[http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/23/fred-wilson-be-your-own-
bit...](http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/23/fred-wilson-be-your-own-bitch/)

