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Zynga CEO: "Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers."

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Re: Zynga CEO: "Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers."

#61

Post by johnrob »

jwhitlark wrote: post #53
Keyframe wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is kind of a proverb related to business here, which loosely translated says something like: "In a street where there are several bakeries, it is wise to open up another bakery." edit: I remembered that I have heard another version, with a different take: "In a street where there are several bakeries, next business that will open up will be a bakery" - I actually like that one more.

Kinda like the old punchline: "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you."

Great analogy, considering that it is often significantly easier to beat the competition ('you') than bring a new product to market ('the bear').

Re: Zynga CEO: "Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers."

#62

Post by jarek »

ketanb wrote: post #47
jarek wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a ton of number twos and threes on the internet. Quick sample: Bing, Yahoo!, Tagged...

If we look at sites like Facebook or Linked-in or any company building social websites/applications chances of finding number 2 is less. I haven't heard any Linked-In or Facebook competitor. We do see number 2 like Bing, Yahoo etc because they are not startups. Bing is funded by Microsoft and Yahoo was number 1 sometime in the past and has enough money to self-sustain for a while. How long Yahoo will survive?

Tagged is a number three, not owned by a large corporation, not a previous giant.

When it comes to social networking, network effects normally result in one or two highly visible giants and a long tail of smaller, likely specialized networks. These can still be profitable, and of course there's more to the web and startups than stuff that is social in nature.

Re: Zynga CEO: "Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers."

#63

Post by Eight »

I understand that Zynga is relatively good at what they do. But as a company I do not trust them at all. Just with the amount of spam advertising they do purely on Facebook it would not surprise me at all to see them sell your information to third parties.

Re: Zynga CEO: "Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers."

#65

Post by rwhitman »

Call me jaded but lately I've learned that most of the wealth on the internet is generated out of "Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers."

I keep encountering folks with this attitude, and sadly it seems to be working for them, very very well. No surprises that this is deliberately disseminated at Zynga

Re: Zynga CEO: "Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers."

#66

Post by samtp »

fondue wrote: post #17

The entire article omits the fact that Zynga furiously iterates on their designs and improves them. I remember when I first joined Facebook and finding Mafia Wars to be just a cheap knock-off of other games with practically the same name. Within months Mafia Wars was streamlining their game, adding new experiences, and making the game more responsive and pleasant to look at. Their competition, from whom they copied,…

Exactly. Its all about continually refining user conversion, engagement, and retention based on every possible usage metric

Re: Zynga CEO: "Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers."

#67

Post by larrywright »

Keyframe wrote: post #16
lee wrote: post #9

To me this sounds like Zynga just took an idea that was already out there, improved upon it, and executed the marketing/business side of things better than their competitors. The blatant art rip-off is evil, but the methodology of "taking something proven, and making it better" is not. Apple does this all the time, and I don't fault them for it. For the HN crowd who "can't find an idea for a startup", maybe this is a…

There is kind of a proverb related to business here, which loosely translated says something like: "In a street where there are several bakeries, it is wise to open up another bakery." edit: I remembered that I have heard another version, with a different take: "In a street where there are several bakeries, next business that will open up will be a bakery" - I actually like that one more.

I seem to recall hearing once that this was how Subway determined whether a location was a good spot to put a restaurant. If there was a McDonald's, Burger King, etc nearby then they moved in. The logic was that if it was good enough for the big guys, it was good enough for them.

I always thought it was a clever way to avoid paying for market research by piggybacking on someone else's.

Re: Zynga CEO: "Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers."

#68

Post by Aetius »

MartinCron wrote: post #59
lee wrote: post #9

To me this sounds like Zynga just took an idea that was already out there, improved upon it, and executed the marketing/business side of things better than their competitors. The blatant art rip-off is evil, but the methodology of "taking something proven, and making it better" is not. Apple does this all the time, and I don't fault them for it. For the HN crowd who "can't find an idea for a startup", maybe this is a…

It's classic second-mover advantage business. Not only do you know what works and what doesn't, you get the benefits that the technology is cheaper and easier and better now than it was years ago. I've often thought of all of the slow-moving entrenched companies that could just have everything taken out from under them by a good hungry team using modern tools and techniques. As long as you're not actively producing n…

Try 3 months of weekends.

Re: Zynga CEO: "Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers."

#69

Post by samtp »

zackattack wrote: post #12
badmash69 wrote: post #5

Ethical considerations aside, this seems like a solid management strategy to me. They have the brand to push through large mass of users , who are not so much into gaming as they are into socializing. If I were an investor in Zynga, I would be very happy , although I would probably use a part of the 10x ROI to buy a sweet gaming rig and play real games.

I don't know anything about this, so I'm just speculating: Are they into socializing? Or are they just into a pleasant distraction that fires off addicting dopamine patterns that they can also share with their peers?

Those don't have to be mutually exclusive

Re: Zynga CEO: "Just copy what they do and do it until you get their numbers."

#70

Post by chancho »

teamonkey wrote: post #49
Keyframe wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is kind of a proverb related to business here, which loosely translated says something like: "In a street where there are several bakeries, it is wise to open up another bakery." edit: I remembered that I have heard another version, with a different take: "In a street where there are several bakeries, next business that will open up will be a bakery" - I actually like that one more.

Starbucks was/is notorious for a similar policy.

On a street where there are several Startbucks, it's wise to open up another Starbucks?
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