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ICQ and AOL basically died. While Microsoft bought Skype and basically morphed it into new-MSN. So Microsoft's slow growth, long-term strategy succeeded, wh
by BlueTemplar 7y ago
ICQ and AOL basically died.
While Microsoft bought Skype and basically morphed it into new-MSN.
So Microsoft's slow growth, long-term strategy succeeded, while it shouldn't have (?).
- scarface74 7y agoYou consider Skype to be a “success”?
- leetcrew 7y agoI don't think this is really a counterexample. skype was already a widely used product when microsoft bought it. joel isn't arguing that you can't have enough money to just buy a product that already has a large network of users. also (iirc), skype only took market share from aol in the first place because it had a killer feature aol lacked: video chat. network effects mean you can't be replaced by a similar service, not that you can't be disrupted by a new product with a unique feature that people actually want.