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Facebook buys Karma
- twodayslate 14y agoLooks like Facebook is using their new IPO money wisely.
- adhipg 14y agoCongratulations to Karma but is Facebook on a race with Google for the number of startups acquired this year?
- debacle 14y agoThis acquisition smells more like Yahoo than Google. I guess Facebook is going to make a bit to consolidate as many services as possible into their social network. I wonder how that's going to impact usability.
- natrius 14y agoWhich purchased startups has Facebook actually integrated into their product? I can't think of any. Friendfeed and Instagram have kept running as standalone projects. The rest have been shut down without any Facebook features that are clear successors.
- loganfrederick 14y agoDivvyshot -> Facebook Photos
- ma2rten 14y agoLooking at this list, it looks like you are right, it's none really: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acquisitions_by_Facebook http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acquisitions_by_Faceboo...
- zeroonetwothree 14y agoBeluga -> FB Messenger
- Steko 14y agoFacebook has made it pretty clear that the majority of their acquisitions have been for talent not technology.
- hack_edu 14y agoFriendFeed -> Status Feed and Aggregation
- teflonhook 14y agoFOR ONE BILLION DOLLARS!!!!!!! lol
- sparknlaunch12 14y agoPretty interesting app and can see how Facebook could utilize the product. I wonder if we will see more of this consolidation in the market place as the big players buy up smaller ones.
- adhipg 14y agoBut how many such acquisitions actually become 'usable' features in the parent product and how many just end up being talent acquisitions? I don't imagine it's easy to integrate something into core Facebook than essentially just being a part of the product that uses the API - which can just be done by being an independent entity?
- sparknlaunch12 14y agoUnsure of the terms of the deal, but maybe this was simply a talent acquisition plus strategic purchase? Maybe the cost wasn't that high. I am sure an offer to work at Facebook and integrate your product into the FB platform has some intangible appeal.
- guptaneil 14y agoAnybody else read this headline and wish they could buy karma too?
- eapen 14y agoZuck seems keen to the Wallstreet fellows on the edge with Facebook's unpredictability.
- nostrademons 14y agoI saw the headline and thought it would be about how Morgan Stanley was propping up the Facebook IPO price.
- rsuttongee 14y agoGreat acquisition for Facebook. People are wondering what kind of monetization strategies Facebook will use to make them worth their post-IPO valuation, and Karma is now one good example. People spend a LOT of money on gifts.
- dpearce 14y agoBig time pick up for Facebook. If they can manage to bring Facebook Credits mainstream then everyone watch out.
- dm8 14y agoLooks like FB is on acquisition spree. Instagram, Glancee and now Karma. Just in the space of one month. Are these (Glancee and Karma) people acquisitions?
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- lusr 14y agoThis feels like the Microsoft strategy: sit on a pile of cash and watch others innovate, then buy the guys that succeed (or clone them if you can't buy them). It's a good formula for success because you don't take the risks of introducing an unwanted product into the market, and it's not a bad deal for the acquired besides.
- dennisgorelik 14y agoMicrosoft developed core products (Word, Windows) mostly in-house (after purchasing seed programs). I would expect that success of FaceBook would be always defined by the core FaceBook product - social network, not by acquisitions.
- pyoung 14y agoWhy would you expect that? By many metrics, Facebook's current valuation cannot be justified by their advertising revenue potential, so why shouldn't we expect Facebook to look to other products for revenue. Amazon, Google, and Apple all have very diverse revenue streams outside of their original core products (online retail, AdSense, and Macs), and in many ways it is the reason that these companies are so successful. If anything I would assume that Facebook is looking long and hard at opportunities to generate revenue from other products.
- sasidharm 14y agoDid you mean Google strategy? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acquisitions_by_Google http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acquisitions_by_Google
- 38f0ia 14y agoNow this is a smart buy.
- dennisgorelik 14y agoHow do you know that without knowing the price?
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- mkr-hn 14y agoWho said you do? Your account is an hour old. No one on HN knows who are are.
- 1234the1234 14y agoApparently someone does. It just got deleted. This stuff is getting really creepy. All I use is throw-aways anymore.
- mkr-hn 14y agoThe account is still there. The post is the only thing that went away.
- dennisgorelik 14y agoIf you know - please tell us how much FaceBook paid for Karma.
- BenSchaechter 14y agoI'm pretty sure that Facebook is swiping up a number of these mobile-based companies so that when they get around to launching the Facebook Phone they will integrate these companies as the core services built into the phone itself. Think about it: Having a phone with the following services out of the box highly integrated with the Facebook platform: 1) Glancee -- Pretty much Google Latitude. See where your friends are around you built into your phone 2) Instagram -- Take amazing pictures with filters out of the gate built into your phone 3) Karma -- Get reminders about your friends' lives and events and send them gifts built into your phone These aren't random BS talent-acquisitions (no disrespect). Facebook has something up its sleeve with mobile and I wouldn't be surprised if this was it.
- kalvin 14y agoFYI, Karma's best mechanic is that you send a gift to a recipient without entering cc info; then when the recipient accepts, you become socially obligated to complete the payment process. It also asks the recipient for their address, so you only need to pick the item and enter their email (or FB select). It's generally a beautifully designed app.
- frankdenbow 14y agoYes, this is a really good mechanic. The way they also volley back and forth with notifications on when the card is read, and prompt the recipient to send a card/gift back, all make for a great experience.
- ceol 14y agoI found their website to be beautifully designed as well. I had no idea what Karma was, but a single click and scroll told me exactly what it was and how it works. It's also pretty neat. Good on these folks for making something awesome!
- waterlesscloud 14y agoIt looks like an interesting idea, but the thing that throws up a bit of a flag is that it seems susceptible to becoming SkyMall-ish. I.E. limited and overpriced selections of mixed quality. I don't know that it gives me the precision and control I want with gift selection...
- minikomi 14y agoNice. I'm reminded of how often Facebook is how I know someone's birthday is coming up..,
- tferris 14y agoStrange title, strange post. Like others I hijack this thread: there is someone, Zuckerberg himself or some trading bot (Goldman Sachs) is keeping the price above 38.00$ sharp.
- 2pasc 14y agoThis is interesting as it shows how Facebook may move away from pure advertising as a revenue stream on the mobile and more towards transactions.
- dlevine 14y agoLee is a really nice guy, and has multiple successful companies behind him. Seems like a great move on Facebook's part.
- swasheck 14y agoThey had to do SOMETHING with that $16B
- joncooper 14y agoCongratulations to the Karma team. I was the founding CTO of a competitor, Giftly, have thought about/worked on the space a great deal, and have been really impressed with what y'all have built. You deserve it.
- mlev555 14y agoWhat are you doing now? Would you be interested in working for a new social commerce startup?
- stevenj 14y agoHow do you guys find out about new products and companies? I had never heard of Glancee or Karma (among many others) before I read the news that they had both been acquired by Facebook.
- frankdenbow 14y agoKarma had a few Techcrunch articles
- SpiderX 14y agohttp://betali.st/ http://betali.st/
- 1234the1234 14y agowow... this is how out of touch the wealthy are. No one at all in real life would ever use this idea. I don't want to say like 1%, but honestly this is a tool of a very very small portion of society. The scary part is that a very small portion of society decides if it gets the money to exist.
- InclinedPlane 14y agoSo. Facebook is ostensibly a "public" company except it's still more than 50% controlled by one man and now it has 18 billion dollars of cash to buy up potential competitors before they get big. Zuck has to be feeling pretty damned pleased with himself right about now.
- joshu 14y agoA hiding startup is a potential competitor? You seem angry.
- InclinedPlane 14y agoNot angry, more bemused. This has been one of the most unusual IPOs in history, and all the usual suspects (news media, tech blogs, etc.) can find to talk about are the most mundane and least substantive details.
- justincormack 14y agoThe $18bn is not cash raised for Facebook, it is mostly (can't find if entirely) existing investors selling out. It can use its shares to buy companies though, plus existing cash.
- thesis 14y agoWhen does facebook have to disclose how much they paid for it?
- krosaen 14y agoBen & Lee are a great team, from parlaying the winnings of a business plan competition into a hit app (tap defense), to building a successful company around app marketing using their app to gain traction (tapjoy) and now karma. Can't wait to see what they do with Karma and what comes next!
- ispivey 14y agoI hope they're getting a mandate to build gifting / ecommerce transactions into a revenue stream for Facebook whatever way they can. Bring back Free Gifts / FB Gifts with a vengeance. One-click purchase of products advertised in the sidebar! And congrats again Ben, Lee, and the whole Karma team. They're going to do great things with the resources of FB.
- imautman 14y agoTime to play with the monopoly money I guess. Karma sounds good on paper, but in reality, it is anything but useful. First, you have to buy an overpriced item from their catalogue. A $50 quart of ice cream or a $25 homemade candy bar are just two examples. Not novel at all. Second, if I’m going to spend that much on a gift, then they better be a close friend/family. No way I can afford to do ‘little’ events. Third, I have to pay shipping fees so the cost adds up pretty quick. And fourth, I can’t make this a group gift….have others chip in. The only social aspect is that the gifting is done through Facebook. Wow. For the past few months, I’ve been using EventSmart (www.myeventsmart.com) which is really what social gifting should be. It’s free, the recipient can buy anything they want, and I can invite others to chip in. You can also contribute as little as $5 for anything. For example, recently a close friend’s son had several surgeries on a broken leg. I started a gift, chipped in some money and then invited some mutual friends who contributed as well. EventSmart collected the contributions and then let my friend’s son transfer the funds onto a gift card. He ended up buying some video games through Amazon. No fees. No overpriced items from a limited catalogue. Several people all contributed. Now that’s social gifting! Karma is good marketing with no substance. Their mobile app is nice, but their offering is terrible. I’d never use their restrictive service for overpriced stuff. Hope Facebook didn’t pay that much, but when it’s monopoly money, maybe it doesn’t matter.