4 ms·

Why would a company that relies heavily on bots shut us (or another valuable) bot off?

by alexxtomsk 8y ago

icebraining 8y ago
Maybe they want to start writing their own instead?
- alexxtomsk 8y ago
  I'm sure they have core features to work on compared to a narrow bot use-case. Moreover, they will have to invest heavily in a bot that serves only a part of Slack's user base. It's not a logical move from a product standpoint. I don't see any chance of that happening unless it would be on Hooli platform under Gavin's control =)
andypants 8y ago
For example, they've seen how popular your bot is and have taken your idea and implemented it right into their platform. Even if they might not outright block your bot, it will certainly affect your product's future.
blihp 8y ago
They decide they want to provide the features you provide directly? See Twitter, Google, Apple, Microsoft etc. It's a very old game at this point and you really should be aware of your risk in being so dependent on what is effectively a closed platform. (i.e. an API does not make a closed platform open) They're providing APIs right now to help fuel their own growth but once that growth levels off, or worse reverses, watch out... they may decide that they want your business and then there will be very little you can do to protect yourself from that.
- alexxtomsk 8y ago
  Thanks for saying that. It makes sense for us to be aware of such scenarios.
  - blihp 8y ago
    No problem. BTW, I didn't want to discourage you: it's great that you've got a successful service and it's often a smart move to start on a well known platform. (many of today's successful companies started that way... see Microsoft and IBM ;-) Just be sure to diversify away from the platform lock-in ASAP (i.e. build a bot business rather than a Slack-bot business) so when/if the rules change you're not doing a followup post titled 'Slack destroyed our bot business' down the road.

Why would a company that relies heavily on bots shut us (or another valuable) bot off?

icebraining 8y ago

Maybe they want to start writing their own instead?

alexxtomsk 8y ago
I'm sure they have core features to work on compared to a narrow bot use-case. Moreover, they will have to invest heavily in a bot that serves only a part of Slack's user base. It's not a logical move from a product standpoint. I don't see any chance of that happening unless it would be on Hooli platform under Gavin's control =)

andypants 8y ago

For example, they've seen how popular your bot is and have taken your idea and implemented it right into their platform. Even if they might not outright block your bot, it will certainly affect your product's future.

blihp 8y ago

They decide they want to provide the features you provide directly? See Twitter, Google, Apple, Microsoft etc. It's a very old game at this point and you really should be aware of your risk in being so dependent on what is effectively a closed platform. (i.e. an API does not make a closed platform open) They're providing APIs right now to help fuel their own growth but once that growth levels off, or worse reverses, watch out... they may decide that they want your business and then there will be very little you can do to protect yourself from that.

alexxtomsk 8y ago
Thanks for saying that. It makes sense for us to be aware of such scenarios.
- blihp 8y ago
  No problem. BTW, I didn't want to discourage you: it's great that you've got a successful service and it's often a smart move to start on a well known platform. (many of today's successful companies started that way... see Microsoft and IBM ;-) Just be sure to diversify away from the platform lock-in ASAP (i.e. build a bot business rather than a Slack-bot business) so when/if the rules change you're not doing a followup post titled 'Slack destroyed our bot business' down the road.