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>> An ethics lecture from a man whose company This was written a year before Zynga was formed. I still think he's hypocritical, but let's be clear about the c

by teej 16y ago

>> An ethics lecture from a man whose company This was written a year before Zynga was formed. I still think he's hypocritical, but let's be clear about the context. >> sells spyware (Zwinky toolbar) I have no idea where you got this idea from. Zynga does not make Zwinky, Mindspark Interactive Network does. >> highly profitable add-ons to games under the pretext of charity (Farmville "donations" to Haiti)? A 50% charity split isn't shabby. Sure, Zynga should have given 100%, but there are higher profile initiatives with MUCH lower splits. Product (red) is a great example where buying a $150 iPod nets a whopping $10 for The Global Fund. -------------------------- Disclosure: Current Zynga employee.

bl4k 16y ago
> Zynga does not make Zwinky, Mindspark Interactive Network does. But they need distribution, and they got that through Pincus - See: "I did every horrible thing in the book just to get revenues" : http://techcrunch.com/2009/11/06/zynga-scamville-mark-pinkus-faceboo/ http://techcrunch.com/2009/11/06/zynga-scamville-mark-pinkus... > Product (red) is a great example where buying a $150 iPod nets a whopping $10 for The Global Fund. You really can not compare the two. The BOM and cost of production on an iPod is probably $120. The incremental cost of a Farmville credit is thousands of a cent.
- twir 16y ago
  Thanks for the source on Zynga's connection to Zwinky. I knew there was some sort of connection, but my face got horribly red when I realized "wait, he's right--Zynga didn't make Zwinky."
- teej 16y ago
  > But they need distribution, and they got that through Pincus Point conceded, I didn't know about that. > You really can not compare the two. A fair comparison isn't far out of reach - Shazam (red) only donates 20% of its iPhone app sales. My point isn't about these specific deals, it's that charity-share deals aren't uncommon and a 50% share is above industry standard. And for what it's worth, Zynga did spike their contributions to 100% after the earthquake hit. Through the sales of items in Farmville, they raised over $1.5M for earthquake relief, more than most NGOs, private companies, and countries.
twir 16y ago
Ah, somehow I missed the date the article was written. Apologies to Mr. Pincus for making it seem like he was an a priori hypocrite. Still, I find it a little ironic that he would later say things like, "I did every horrible thing in the book to get the revenues" -- paraphrasing since I don't recall the exact quote. As far as the charity split is concerned, I agree 50% isn't bad in most cases. However, I imagine margins are essentially zip for Zynga in this case, whereas most charities that take a cut of donations do have high operating costs.

by teej 16y ago

bl4k 16y ago

> Zynga does not make Zwinky, Mindspark Interactive Network does. But they need distribution, and they got that through Pincus - See: "I did every horrible thing in the book just to get revenues" : http://techcrunch.com/2009/11/06/zynga-scamville-mark-pinkus-faceboo/ http://techcrunch.com/2009/11/06/zynga-scamville-mark-pinkus... > Product (red) is a great example where buying a $150 iPod nets a whopping $10 for The Global Fund. You really can not compare the two. The BOM and cost of production on an iPod is probably $120. The incremental cost of a Farmville credit is thousands of a cent.

twir 16y ago
Thanks for the source on Zynga's connection to Zwinky. I knew there was some sort of connection, but my face got horribly red when I realized "wait, he's right--Zynga didn't make Zwinky."
teej 16y ago
> But they need distribution, and they got that through Pincus Point conceded, I didn't know about that. > You really can not compare the two. A fair comparison isn't far out of reach - Shazam (red) only donates 20% of its iPhone app sales. My point isn't about these specific deals, it's that charity-share deals aren't uncommon and a 50% share is above industry standard. And for what it's worth, Zynga did spike their contributions to 100% after the earthquake hit. Through the sales of items in Farmville, they raised over $1.5M for earthquake relief, more than most NGOs, private companies, and countries.

twir 16y ago

Ah, somehow I missed the date the article was written. Apologies to Mr. Pincus for making it seem like he was an a priori hypocrite. Still, I find it a little ironic that he would later say things like, "I did every horrible thing in the book to get the revenues" -- paraphrasing since I don't recall the exact quote. As far as the charity split is concerned, I agree 50% isn't bad in most cases. However, I imagine margins are essentially zip for Zynga in this case, whereas most charities that take a cut of donations do have high operating costs.