5 ms·

Why did del.icio.us fail and what are the alternatives?

2 points by mike2477 13y ago

I am currently working on what del.icio.us could have become if it wasn't acquired by Yahoo (www.shelfbeta.com), I want to hear from others why they think it failed. All thoughts welcome!

benologist 13y ago
Delicious didn't fail, it was a successful startup that stayed relevant for years after a decent acquisition, before fading away. I can think of a bunch of reasons why it's no longer relevant: - Yahoo and many of their properties stagnated - mobile browsers didn't support bookmarklets and extensions that made Delicious so easy - Facebook and Twitter became more convenient places for sharing links - browsers became "good enough" for archiving links because of syncing and cross-device access
southpawgirl 13y ago
Has Delicious failed? It might not be flavour of the month anymore (since a long long time), and I don't know anyone who uses its social features. But as a way to quickly access my bookmarks from any device, it still has a job and it does perform it well. I like to be able to access my public links without having to log in. What is a partial failure, is the flat redesign. Very nice to look at, but slightly infuriating to use, especially when adding a new bookmark.
RexRollman 13y ago
>I am currently working on what del.icio.us could have become That's already been done. It's called Pinboard.
- a_voyager 13y ago
  I agree. Pinboard is extremely simple and fills my need for a Delicious alternative.
johneth 13y ago
Just an FYI - if you leave the www. off your URL, a GoDaddy page appears.
meerita 13y ago
Del.icio.us was a Good alternative to old Bookmarking system. I don't know the current reasons they've killed but I suspect many of them related to non-profitable platform, heavy use and management for sure. Later, it clearly became unrelevant because right now all links are seamlessly synced between devices without having to enter a website, right in the browser. I guess the only one who doesn't is Firefox, but the rest they have their own.

2 points by mike2477 13y ago

I am currently working on what del.icio.us could have become if it wasn't acquired by Yahoo (www.shelfbeta.com), I want to hear from others why they think it failed. All thoughts welcome!

benologist 13y ago

Delicious didn't fail, it was a successful startup that stayed relevant for years after a decent acquisition, before fading away. I can think of a bunch of reasons why it's no longer relevant: - Yahoo and many of their properties stagnated - mobile browsers didn't support bookmarklets and extensions that made Delicious so easy - Facebook and Twitter became more convenient places for sharing links - browsers became "good enough" for archiving links because of syncing and cross-device access

southpawgirl 13y ago

Has Delicious failed? It might not be flavour of the month anymore (since a long long time), and I don't know anyone who uses its social features. But as a way to quickly access my bookmarks from any device, it still has a job and it does perform it well. I like to be able to access my public links without having to log in. What is a partial failure, is the flat redesign. Very nice to look at, but slightly infuriating to use, especially when adding a new bookmark.

RexRollman 13y ago

>I am currently working on what del.icio.us could have become That's already been done. It's called Pinboard.

a_voyager 13y ago
I agree. Pinboard is extremely simple and fills my need for a Delicious alternative.

johneth 13y ago

Just an FYI - if you leave the www. off your URL, a GoDaddy page appears.

meerita 13y ago

Del.icio.us was a Good alternative to old Bookmarking system. I don't know the current reasons they've killed but I suspect many of them related to non-profitable platform, heavy use and management for sure. Later, it clearly became unrelevant because right now all links are seamlessly synced between devices without having to enter a website, right in the browser. I guess the only one who doesn't is Firefox, but the rest they have their own.