3 ms·

I worked at AOL years ago when the company announced internally that the product would not be extended, but that the service would remain online. I was headed

I worked at AOL years ago when the company announced internally that the product would not be extended, but that the service would remain online. I was headed to the main campus (Dulles) when the announcement was made. Internally, they dismissed the entire AIM product engineers and management, and simply retained operational people to keep the lights on. Walking up to the floor where the AIM crew was working was creepy. Product plans on whiteboards and windows, with future dates written down everywhere. All the cubes on the floor were vacant, save for maybe a small few on the opposite side of the office (admin-type folks.) It was just straight-up silent, and incredibly deflating. That team always seemed to have a fairly good vibe, at least in observation. I think they really missed an opportunity with AIM.

astrodust 9y ago
It's a shame, really, as AIM could have easily evolved into Slack for family/friends connections all along a spectrum of casual to intimate. It's like how Flickr couldn't make a mobile app and Instagram happened, or how Digg fumbled so badly Reddit came out of nowhere. First mover advantage is only important in the initial cycle. Once the market matures it's a huge liability.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- acdha 9y ago
  It’s not just first mover: Flickr was doing great until they were bought by Yahoo, which was a decade into the management vacuum by that point, and AOL was doing their best to make Yahoo’s management look visionary and competent. In both cases the message I take is that a good team can’t make up for executives who don’t know what their business model is. Management by oh-shiny! and laying off people until a spreadsheet column is positive will trump lower level competence every time.
  - astrodust 9y ago
    Sometimes first mover means first to achieve any significant valuation which means first to be acquired. As you point out, acquisitions can often mean death.

astrodust 9y ago

It's a shame, really, as AIM could have easily evolved into Slack for family/friends connections all along a spectrum of casual to intimate. It's like how Flickr couldn't make a mobile app and Instagram happened, or how Digg fumbled so badly Reddit came out of nowhere. First mover advantage is only important in the initial cycle. Once the market matures it's a huge liability.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
acdha 9y ago
It’s not just first mover: Flickr was doing great until they were bought by Yahoo, which was a decade into the management vacuum by that point, and AOL was doing their best to make Yahoo’s management look visionary and competent. In both cases the message I take is that a good team can’t make up for executives who don’t know what their business model is. Management by oh-shiny! and laying off people until a spreadsheet column is positive will trump lower level competence every time.
- astrodust 9y ago
  Sometimes first mover means first to achieve any significant valuation which means first to be acquired. As you point out, acquisitions can often mean death.