7 ms·

Every time Facebook is buying something I feel sad and imagine Facebook like the black plague that will swallow that normal organism.

jcroll 6y ago
The owners of giphy don't feel the same pangs I'm sure
- timdiggerm 6y ago
  I mean, it worked out great for the Instagram guys, right?
  - baddox 6y ago
    Not just for the personal finances of the Instagram founders and team. The Instagram acquisition has been, as far as I can tell, a huge success for Facebook.
  - nostromo 6y ago
    Maybe..? I can imagine an alternate 2020 where an independent Instagram is growing like a weed and the founders are much more wealthy.
    - flunhat 6y ago
      Most people on this site couldn't imagine it back then: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3817850 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3817850
  - LunaSea 6y ago
    Didn't work too well for the Whatsapp team ...
- M2Ys4U 6y ago
  And if they do I'm sure they'll have enough cash to dry their eyes with
  - arcadeparade 6y ago
    giphy has a .gif of that
  - moufestaphio 6y ago
    I'm pretty sure there is a woody harrelson gif for that
    - saagarjha 6y ago
      There is: https://giphy.com/gifs/94EQmVHkveNck https://giphy.com/gifs/94EQmVHkveNck
- annadane 6y ago
  They will once they see what Facebook turns them into.
  - ryandrake 6y ago
    Immensely wealthy people? I'm sure those pangs are awful.
eloc49 6y ago
This exactly. Kara Swisher's interview with Sarah Frier on how Instagram went really paints the picture. https://overcast.fm/+QLdurp-A8 https://overcast.fm/+QLdurp-A8
- throwaway4715 6y ago
  That interview was bad. They're trying to make you feel bad for the Instagram founders because they were too stupid to realize that after you _sell_ your company you don't own it anymore. Also, per that interview, Instagram only became sustainable under Facebook. Hard to feel bad about it.
  - seppin 6y ago
    > Instagram only became sustainable under Facebook. That's an incredible leap to say IG couldn't develop their own ad network as a stand alone company. Hire a few people away from Google with options in a growing company the same way FB did. If IG didn't sell they would have fully killed Facebook's relevancy by now.
    - throwaway4715 6y ago
      Yeah, but the IG founders didn't want to put ads on the product at all. It was not a sustainable business while in their control.
      - seppin 6y ago
        Do you have a source that they refused any ads at all? There's a difference between having a few tasteful ones and overloading it like it currently is.
jondubois 6y ago
It's a great match. They're both hype-mongering companies which add no value whatsoever to society.
- kgin 6y ago
  Am I out of touch? No, it's the 1.6B daily active users who are wrong.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - nine_k 6y ago
    Look at it as at a bad but addictive habit. Hundreds of millions of smokers do harm their health, and through it their own and their neighbors' wealth. But quitting is indeed hard.
    - gizmodo59 6y ago
      I'd argue a gif sent to someone during a heated conversation can make it light and end up funny. This goes for anything that anyone uses. I wouldn't compare this with smoking though.
      - meIias 6y ago
        You know what else could have the same effect? the right set of words. those are untraceable and they take up little bandwidth.
    - hk__2 6y ago
      You can’t seriously compare smoking and keeping up with friends and family, which is the reason that drives most of the usage of Facebook.
      - thekyle 6y ago
        No doubt that smoking is way worse than using Facebook. But using Facebook (and similar sites) can cause mental health issues which should be taken seriously.
ccktlmazeltov 6y ago
Why? They have a tendency to better products they acquire, look at whatsapp, instagram, oculus.
- raindropm 6y ago
  True, but they are, well...Facebook. Their stigma is just too strong to be forget/forgive overnight.
  - ccktlmazeltov 6y ago
    Don't put everyone in the same basket, I have no problems against them.
kgin 6y ago
It's not like back when Yahoo would buy and immediately kill everything it touched.

jcroll 6y ago

The owners of giphy don't feel the same pangs I'm sure

timdiggerm 6y ago
I mean, it worked out great for the Instagram guys, right?
- baddox 6y ago
  Not just for the personal finances of the Instagram founders and team. The Instagram acquisition has been, as far as I can tell, a huge success for Facebook.
- nostromo 6y ago
  Maybe..? I can imagine an alternate 2020 where an independent Instagram is growing like a weed and the founders are much more wealthy.
  - flunhat 6y ago
    Most people on this site couldn't imagine it back then: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3817850 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3817850
- LunaSea 6y ago
  Didn't work too well for the Whatsapp team ...
M2Ys4U 6y ago
And if they do I'm sure they'll have enough cash to dry their eyes with
- arcadeparade 6y ago
  giphy has a .gif of that
- moufestaphio 6y ago
  I'm pretty sure there is a woody harrelson gif for that
  - saagarjha 6y ago
    There is: https://giphy.com/gifs/94EQmVHkveNck https://giphy.com/gifs/94EQmVHkveNck
annadane 6y ago
They will once they see what Facebook turns them into.
- ryandrake 6y ago
  Immensely wealthy people? I'm sure those pangs are awful.

eloc49 6y ago

This exactly. Kara Swisher's interview with Sarah Frier on how Instagram went really paints the picture. https://overcast.fm/+QLdurp-A8 https://overcast.fm/+QLdurp-A8

throwaway4715 6y ago
That interview was bad. They're trying to make you feel bad for the Instagram founders because they were too stupid to realize that after you _sell_ your company you don't own it anymore. Also, per that interview, Instagram only became sustainable under Facebook. Hard to feel bad about it.
- seppin 6y ago
  > Instagram only became sustainable under Facebook. That's an incredible leap to say IG couldn't develop their own ad network as a stand alone company. Hire a few people away from Google with options in a growing company the same way FB did. If IG didn't sell they would have fully killed Facebook's relevancy by now.
  - throwaway4715 6y ago
    Yeah, but the IG founders didn't want to put ads on the product at all. It was not a sustainable business while in their control.
    - seppin 6y ago
      Do you have a source that they refused any ads at all? There's a difference between having a few tasteful ones and overloading it like it currently is.

jondubois 6y ago

It's a great match. They're both hype-mongering companies which add no value whatsoever to society.

kgin 6y ago
Am I out of touch? No, it's the 1.6B daily active users who are wrong.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- nine_k 6y ago
  Look at it as at a bad but addictive habit. Hundreds of millions of smokers do harm their health, and through it their own and their neighbors' wealth. But quitting is indeed hard.
  - gizmodo59 6y ago
    I'd argue a gif sent to someone during a heated conversation can make it light and end up funny. This goes for anything that anyone uses. I wouldn't compare this with smoking though.
    - meIias 6y ago
      You know what else could have the same effect? the right set of words. those are untraceable and they take up little bandwidth.
  - hk__2 6y ago
    You can’t seriously compare smoking and keeping up with friends and family, which is the reason that drives most of the usage of Facebook.
    - thekyle 6y ago
      No doubt that smoking is way worse than using Facebook. But using Facebook (and similar sites) can cause mental health issues which should be taken seriously.

ccktlmazeltov 6y ago

Why? They have a tendency to better products they acquire, look at whatsapp, instagram, oculus.

raindropm 6y ago
True, but they are, well...Facebook. Their stigma is just too strong to be forget/forgive overnight.
- ccktlmazeltov 6y ago
  Don't put everyone in the same basket, I have no problems against them.

kgin 6y ago

It's not like back when Yahoo would buy and immediately kill everything it touched.