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Instapaper is going independent

blog.instapaper.com

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Re: Instapaper is going independent

#61

Post by chubot »

brad0 wrote: post #4

From what I’ve seen this is usually what happens when the parent company wants to close the service down. First they spin off the service into its own company then the company shuts down because of a lack of income. Is that what’s happening here? What’s the name of this process?

Counterexample: Reddit was acquired by Conde Nast and then spun out.

Although honestly I am not a fan of the recent UI changes, which are presumably done for monetization. An explanation would be nice as I am mystified. I guess a redesign is a way to make more room for ads without making it completely obvious.

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#62

Post by ghostly_s »

throwawaymath wrote: post #56
dfabulich wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is this better for Pinterest and/or Instapaper? In the 2016 blog post announcing the acquisition: http://blog.instapaper.com/post/149374303661 > All of these features and developments revolved around the core mission of Instapaper, which is allowing our users to discover, save, and experience interesting web content. In that respect, there is a lot of overlap between Pinterest and Instapaper. Joining Pinterest pr…

Look at Brian's comment history: https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=bthdonohue . He's not active on HN, but he jumps in for quick damage control and "clarification" when people have vaguely privacy-related or operational questions about Instapaper. When followup questions are posed, particularly more difficult ones, he never responds. So I find it very unlikely you're going to get an answer here, because this ac…

And how does that factor in to the acquisition or spinoff?

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#63

Post by drexlspivey »

bthdonohue wrote: post #9
brad0 wrote: post #4

From what I’ve seen this is usually what happens when the parent company wants to close the service down. First they spin off the service into its own company then the company shuts down because of a lack of income. Is that what’s happening here? What’s the name of this process?

Hi Brad, Brian from Instapaper here. Just want to reassure you that's not the case here, we intend to operate Instapaper for the foreseeable future. We made this decision because we believe it’s best for both Pinterest and Instapaper.

Are you going to unblock EU users? If so when?

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#64

Post by GrumpyNl »

throwawaymath wrote: post #56
dfabulich wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is this better for Pinterest and/or Instapaper? In the 2016 blog post announcing the acquisition: http://blog.instapaper.com/post/149374303661 > All of these features and developments revolved around the core mission of Instapaper, which is allowing our users to discover, save, and experience interesting web content. In that respect, there is a lot of overlap between Pinterest and Instapaper. Joining Pinterest pr…

Look at Brian's comment history: https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=bthdonohue . He's not active on HN, but he jumps in for quick damage control and "clarification" when people have vaguely privacy-related or operational questions about Instapaper. When followup questions are posed, particularly more difficult ones, he never responds. So I find it very unlikely you're going to get an answer here, because this ac…

Cant look at it, cause of Instapaper is temporarily unavailable for users in Europe

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#65

Post by ggg9990 »

dfabulich wrote: post #11
bthdonohue wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi Brad, Brian from Instapaper here. Just want to reassure you that's not the case here, we intend to operate Instapaper for the foreseeable future. We made this decision because we believe it’s best for both Pinterest and Instapaper.

Why is this better for Pinterest and/or Instapaper? In the 2016 blog post announcing the acquisition: http://blog.instapaper.com/post/149374303661 > All of these features and developments revolved around the core mission of Instapaper, which is allowing our users to discover, save, and experience interesting web content. In that respect, there is a lot of overlap between Pinterest and Instapaper. Joining Pinterest pr…

It rarely makes any sense for a large multibillion dollar company to operate a tiny business that has no material impact on its financials. It's like Bill Gates owning a taco truck -- even though it might be a perfectly financially viable taco truck, it's always going to be just a little random thing he has, and pretty much any involvement he has with the truck's operator/management will be disruptive.

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#66

Post by GrumpyNl »

drexlspivey wrote: post #63
bthdonohue wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi Brad, Brian from Instapaper here. Just want to reassure you that's not the case here, we intend to operate Instapaper for the foreseeable future. We made this decision because we believe it’s best for both Pinterest and Instapaper.

Are you going to unblock EU users? If so when?

They have to get there shit together. So looks like the USA users are screwed since they can not apply to GDPR

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#68

Post by m_fayer »

throwawaymath wrote: post #56
dfabulich wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is this better for Pinterest and/or Instapaper? In the 2016 blog post announcing the acquisition: http://blog.instapaper.com/post/149374303661 > All of these features and developments revolved around the core mission of Instapaper, which is allowing our users to discover, save, and experience interesting web content. In that respect, there is a lot of overlap between Pinterest and Instapaper. Joining Pinterest pr…

Look at Brian's comment history: https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=bthdonohue . He's not active on HN, but he jumps in for quick damage control and "clarification" when people have vaguely privacy-related or operational questions about Instapaper. When followup questions are posed, particularly more difficult ones, he never responds. So I find it very unlikely you're going to get an answer here, because this ac…

Great analysis, thanks.

Your points make me wonder... If you're running a small successful and independent sass, that respects its users, and you want to move on. What do you do, if your only options are selling to a large company that won't respect your users, or shutting down? Is it plausible to find a buyer that will honestly maintain a user-respecting ethos? If not, then it seems that there are no good choices for a founder in this position.

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#70

Post by m_fayer »

andrepd wrote: post #67

Why would anybody use instapaper over pocket?

Because, at least while instapaper was still maintained, it really had a focus on empowering the serious reader and getting out of their way. While pocket seems to be more interested in adding social media elements and generally being a "platform."
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