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Instapaper is going independent

blog.instapaper.com

161–170 of 195 posts

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#161
post #71

Instapaper is still not available to users in EU. It's been to months. I started to use Pocket because of this and now I don't think I'm coming back.

I don't mean to sound trite or dismissive, but the blame should be directed at EU legislators. If I create another software product I will explicitly and permanently make it unavailable to EU residents.

Cool, I just need a list of such products so I don't use them anywhere in the world.

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#162
post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't the worst case 4% of global turnover? Shouldn't Instapaper's EU revenue be far above that?

It is the whichever is greater of 20 million Euros or 4 percent of annual turnover.

I see. That must seem brutal to small businesses.

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#163
post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is the whichever is greater of 20 million Euros or 4 percent of annual turnover.

I see. That must seem brutal to small businesses.

There's also the proportionality clauses to consider. The law explicitly states that the penalty should be proportionate, so that small companies aren't hit with huge fines.

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you can piss on customers for 2 months and then drop a "sorry for the inconvenience". And for no good reason. Just assume the improbable cost of some litigation as a company, like tens of thousands of others (including much bigger and much smaller than yours) did, put up a message to European customers and have them click and proceed as usual to the service. Or, you know, use the headstart of more than…

I'm not sure why the above is getting downvoted. Sure, it's a bit salty, but if I were paying for instapaper (which I realise is cheap as chips, but the principle still stands) I don't think I'd be very impressed with being locked out for two months. Genuine question: as an EU citizen, without the use of a VPN or proxy is it still possible to at least log on to the service to cancel your account?

I found no such way, but I emailed their support and asked them to delete my account which they did no questions asked.

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#165
post #71

Instapaper is still not available to users in EU. It's been to months. I started to use Pocket because of this and now I don't think I'm coming back.

Hey zulrah, we are working on GDPR and plan to have the service available in the EU as soon as possible. Hope to have you back on Instapaper when we become available in the EU again. Really sorry for the inconvenience.

To be honest, nothing about GDPR compliance was a surprise. The law was passed in 2016. That's plenty of time get your house in order, and yet here you are over a month past due, with an oops, sorry. What gives?

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#167
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

M&A guy here - despite what finance people will say, a majority of acquisitions do not end up realizing their planned strategy.

Good to know, but to this specific case, if someone (basically) says "This is not a spinoff to let it die, but to flourish on it's own", it's nice to have them explain why they are credible when they (or previous company rep) previously said "This is not a purchase to let it die, to but to flourish as part of the collective". Just give an actual reason why this time will be different. I already know not to trust M&A…

I'm guessing something changing between 2016 and now. Maybe it was rate of growth, or how well Instapaper fits into Pinterest's product strategy going forward. There's all sorts of reasons it might've made sense at the time to acquire them, and for it to make sense now to let them go. You tend to not get real answers to these kinds of questions from companies, though.

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#168
post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is the whichever is greater of 20 million Euros or 4 percent of annual turnover.

I see. That must seem brutal to small businesses.

The fines are supposed to be proportional. Everyone has latched on to the $40mm clause, and decided that anyone in breach of GDPR rules is going to be fined millions of dollars.

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know of one company which explicitly has this approach: http://tiny.website/ > We won't try to flip your business in 3-5 years. We won't mess with your team and culture. We won't lock you into golden handcuffs or push complex deal terms. We won't ruin your life with months of unnecessary due diligence. We won't renegotiate and grind you on terms. > … > We started Tiny to create the buyer we wish we could have sold…

I started reading your comment assuming you were stating a small business that was making a pre-commitment not to "sell out". I was pleasantly surprised to see you were highlighting a company that is "safe" to "sell out" TO. Even though I hate the fallout that impacts me as a user, I'm generally happy to see financial success come to those that made something cool (if you didn't make promises to the contrary). Commit…

I’ve know the CEO of a Tiny-affiliated company for a few years and consider him a friend. In a previous role, we had a very close partnership with the company. I also worked at the company, albeit only for a few months in a leadership role.

Andrew and the rest of the Tiny crew seem to do a great job of standing behind what they say, from my limited experience.

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This narrative has long since become tired. If you don't respect your users' privacy you don't deserve to do business in the EU. And make no mistake: whether you like it or not, that legislation - or something very like it - is going to jump the Atlantic sooner or later, so why not position yourself ahead of the curve instead of stropping off and taking your ball home? There are side-effects I don't like about GDPR,…

> If you don't respect your users' privacy you don't deserve to do business in the EU. So you're going to make the decision of what constitutes "respecting my privacy" for every single person in the EU?

Me? No. That's what the legislation does.
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