Actually, the proper metaphor is that Zynga is Facebook's tapeworm.
Facebook Is The Ant; Zynga Is The Grasshopper
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Re: Facebook Is The Ant; Zynga Is The Grasshopper
#12I think this is a neat article, but guilty of over-analysis.
Perhaps Zuck takes his mission too seriously, and Pincus doesn't take his seriously enough. Or perhaps Pincus is smart enough to cash out while he can.
Either way, entrepreneurs approach business differently from each other. Nothing extraordinary about that.
Re: Facebook Is The Ant; Zynga Is The Grasshopper
#13The fundamentals of Facebook’s business – even when it was working perfectly – are to ensure a steady stream of new users (often via M&A), to grease the user acquisition machine via advertising on just about everywhere, and to incent users to rope in their friends. This strategy depends on playing with copious amounts of capital to buy companies, ads, and promotions.
And this - "Facebook’s mission – to make the world more open and connected" is just hilarious (forgive me Louis :) ).
Re: Facebook Is The Ant; Zynga Is The Grasshopper
#14And yet Mark Pincus is a multi-millionaire and a massive Valley success story. Not to mention the last guy that had Zuckerbeg's "zeal" and lived in a humble house died recently, and was known for being an unbearable dick to his employees. It's usually a big can of worms to judge an entrepreneur by anything other than his success. Besides -- what is so wrong about Pincus wanting to get rich?
Nothing is wrong with wanting to get rich. But there's a lot wrong with wanting to get rich no matter how it harms other people.
Also, I'm not sure I'd call him a Valley success story. Zynga is company number 4. The last three all made him some money without going anywhere. Like the article's author, I think Zynga is on the same path to long-term irrelevance.
Few in the Valley look back on the wreckage of Bubble 1.0 and think of those companies as success stories, however much they enriched their founders.
Re: Facebook Is The Ant; Zynga Is The Grasshopper
#15And yet Mark Pincus is a multi-millionaire and a massive Valley success story. Not to mention the last guy that had Zuckerbeg's "zeal" and lived in a humble house died recently, and was known for being an unbearable dick to his employees. It's usually a big can of worms to judge an entrepreneur by anything other than his success. Besides -- what is so wrong about Pincus wanting to get rich?
If you're referring to Jobs as the last guy that had "Zuck's zeal", you need to get to get a reality check.
Jobs built multiple multi-billion dollar companies that redefined innovation. He (and his team) created the personal computer market, transformed it again 20 years later, transformed telecom 'overnight' while slaying RIM and Nokia with one swoop, and in many regards — introduced new childhood memories that will not be forgotten for decades, like Snow White's glass slipper. The MySpace abomination barely left a wrinkle in history's culture.
I'm not one to hate on entrepreneurs but Zuck has a long way to go. I feel like there needs to be a history book for new entrepreneurs who think the glorified web startup guys are Gods among men. Most of the Gods aren't socializing at this weeks Startup FunFunFun HappyHour Fest 5000.
Re: Facebook Is The Ant; Zynga Is The Grasshopper
#16"A great poker player demonstrates commitment by going “All In”." This is a minor point, but given I live with a very serious poker player, I've started to twitch about poker misunderstandings. Going all-in is not a rare event - at least not in no-limit Holdem, which is the game most people think of as "poker". Nor is it limited to the "great" poker players - in fact, it's one of the more basic and more common strate…
I read it just as a sort of throw away line in the article. But you're right, going all in isn't rare. In tournament play when your stack size is below certain thresholds & you're in certain positions relative to the blinds [1] going all in is the proper play to make 100% of the time, so it's quite common.
For cash games, which most people are less familiar with, going all in is still generally based more in math than "commitment" or being a man. If the way you've played a hand gives you a certain range, you can estimate what bet sizes your opponent thinks he can profitably call. Beyond the psychology, going all in is just a means to make your opponent commit a math error, that long-term would be an unprofitable course of action.
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-ratio -though this is a very generic explanation that doesn't go into position.
Re: Facebook Is The Ant; Zynga Is The Grasshopper
#17I think they're both companies that are just WAY over valued!
Re: Facebook Is The Ant; Zynga Is The Grasshopper
#18And yet Mark Pincus is a multi-millionaire and a massive Valley success story. Not to mention the last guy that had Zuckerbeg's "zeal" and lived in a humble house died recently, and was known for being an unbearable dick to his employees. It's usually a big can of worms to judge an entrepreneur by anything other than his success. Besides -- what is so wrong about Pincus wanting to get rich?
Q: What's better than being a multimillionaire? A: Not being Mark Pincus.
If the stories of how bad zynga is to its employees keep pouring out, "Stop being a pincus" might even become mainstream.
Re: Facebook Is The Ant; Zynga Is The Grasshopper
#19And yet Mark Pincus is a multi-millionaire and a massive Valley success story. Not to mention the last guy that had Zuckerbeg's "zeal" and lived in a humble house died recently, and was known for being an unbearable dick to his employees. It's usually a big can of worms to judge an entrepreneur by anything other than his success. Besides -- what is so wrong about Pincus wanting to get rich?
If you're referring to Jobs as the last guy that had "Zuck's zeal", you need to get to get a reality check. Jobs built multiple multi-billion dollar companies that redefined innovation. He (and his team) created the personal computer market, transformed it again 20 years later, transformed telecom 'overnight' while slaying RIM and Nokia with one swoop, and in many regards — introduced new childhood memories that will…
Jobs didn't create the PC market... but nice try.
Re: Facebook Is The Ant; Zynga Is The Grasshopper
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
Q: What's better than being a multimillionaire? A: Not being Mark Pincus.
If the stories of how bad zynga is to its employees keep pouring out, "Stop being a pincus" might even become mainstream.
As a portmanteau of "pink phallus", maybe?
He could run as a certain abrasive ex-Senator's Veep. "Get Santorum on your Pincus in 2016." I say this as one who desperately wanted to see this ex-Senator win the Republican nomination (I dislike the Republican Party that much at this point) and choose Boehner as his running mate.