4 ms·

People are building more and more onto the platform and relying on it more and more, this is ultimate lock-in at the moment. Whenever they want they can start c

by javery 17y ago

People are building more and more onto the platform and relying on it more and more, this is ultimate lock-in at the moment. Whenever they want they can start charging companies for API access, search access, access to the data, access to the live stream, etc. I think they are just biding their time (they have the money) to grow it as much as possible and then either sell it off or start flipping the switches.

moe 17y ago
I think they are just biding their time (they have the money) to grow it as much as possible and then either sell it off or start flipping the switches. And I think they are just cashing out before the bubble pops and have absolutely no idea where twitter could be going nor why people are throwing money after them in metric kiloton bundles. Ofcourse they have to keep pulling bullshit like "realtime search" outta their rears because the "stake"holders want to hear something. But all I have seen in that direction was, at best, feel-good babble and not any remotely tangible vision. "Flipping switches" is not an option either because people would simply flip their own switches - towards the next best clone.
- javery 17y ago
  Yeah, like everyone switched away from Windows the minute they started milking their platform. Or how everyone switched off Gasoline when it hit $4/gallon. Or how everyone stopped paying for Cable when the cable companies jacked up the prices even more. Once they own the network that everyone is using it will be almost impossible for imitators to take it away.
  - nir 17y ago
    Well, maybe like how people switched from ICQ to MSN to gTalk to Skype, or from Slashdot to Digg to Reddit to HN. Opening a user account on a competing website is much easier than changing OS or car engine.
  - moe 17y ago
    You're not seriously comparing twitter to these things, are you? What will they do when a competitor offers to "keep your account in sync with twitter" (tweets and followers)? Forbid it in their TOS ofcourse - and that's the beginning of the end. Also get over the "everyone is using" myth. Last time I checked the number of twitter accounts was in the ballpark of 0,1% of the internet population. Based on their publicized, inflated figures mind you - likely including all dead and double accounts.

by javery 17y ago

moe 17y ago

I think they are just biding their time (they have the money) to grow it as much as possible and then either sell it off or start flipping the switches. And I think they are just cashing out before the bubble pops and have absolutely no idea where twitter could be going nor why people are throwing money after them in metric kiloton bundles. Ofcourse they have to keep pulling bullshit like "realtime search" outta their rears because the "stake"holders want to hear something. But all I have seen in that direction was, at best, feel-good babble and not any remotely tangible vision. "Flipping switches" is not an option either because people would simply flip their own switches - towards the next best clone.

javery 17y ago
Yeah, like everyone switched away from Windows the minute they started milking their platform. Or how everyone switched off Gasoline when it hit $4/gallon. Or how everyone stopped paying for Cable when the cable companies jacked up the prices even more. Once they own the network that everyone is using it will be almost impossible for imitators to take it away.
- nir 17y ago
  Well, maybe like how people switched from ICQ to MSN to gTalk to Skype, or from Slashdot to Digg to Reddit to HN. Opening a user account on a competing website is much easier than changing OS or car engine.
- moe 17y ago
  You're not seriously comparing twitter to these things, are you? What will they do when a competitor offers to "keep your account in sync with twitter" (tweets and followers)? Forbid it in their TOS ofcourse - and that's the beginning of the end. Also get over the "everyone is using" myth. Last time I checked the number of twitter accounts was in the ballpark of 0,1% of the internet population. Based on their publicized, inflated figures mind you - likely including all dead and double accounts.