I know people like to jump on the 37signals guys, but I don't feel this article is a criticism of founders or investors who choose to sell or be acquired. It's

I know people like to jump on the 37signals guys, but I don't feel this article is a criticism of founders or investors who choose to sell or be acquired. It's a footnote reminder that acquisitions, no matter how well intentioned or promising, often result in promising products gradually being starved of attention and resources as the fickle nature of the acquirer shifts to other matters. Condolences to the users as the product is left to wither in "maintenance mode", or mothballed entirely with the sourcecode & IP archived in a drawer somewhere. It's interesting to contemplate what the del.icio.us and Lala's of the world may have become had they been able to go it alone, and conversely what would have happened to the Facebook or Twitter's had they been acquired in the first few years.