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How LinkedIn betrayed a 5-man startup

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Re: How LinkedIn betrayed a 5-man startup

#11

Post by eropple »

jayp wrote: post #6
dllthomas wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From France, there's not so huge a difference, is there? You're still probably flying into SFO.

A factual error is a factual error. Definitely lowers the credibility of the article for me.

That's a foolish and shortsighted way of looking at it. My company's headquarters is in Newton, MA, but if we're flying people in to talk, they universally say "Boston". Because to people not from the area, that's what it is.

Synecdoche is a part of English (San Francisco being the most notable part of Silicon Valley). It may upset the overly pedantic, but...oh well?

Re: How LinkedIn betrayed a 5-man startup

#12

Post by pygorex »

If your product is completely dependent on a third-party API or service in order to function you really only have two possible exits:

  1. Get bought out by the company implementing the API
  2. Get shut out by the company implementing the API
This should serve as a cautionary tale: never place the fate of your company in the hands of someone whose interests may not align with yours.

Re: How LinkedIn betrayed a 5-man startup

#13

Post by donretag »

I briefly started working on an application that would have many positive benefits for the LinkedIn community. After reading the API terms and conditions, it was very apparent that I would not have been able to achieve my goals, so I stopped.

The terms and conditions are pretty restrictive, but they are provided. I should not have come as a surprise that their API access was cut off. You should not be developing an application that not only is dependent on one company's API, but also against their terms of service (without an explicit authorization/partnership).

Re: How LinkedIn betrayed a 5-man startup

#14

Post by joering2 »

ahi wrote: post #3
jonrussell wrote: post #2

Hi, author here, don't usually [ever] comment on my own work here - but am interested to hear if other devs have had similar or contrasting experiences working with LinkedIn.

What does "iterates" mean in context? "Pealk has been in contact with lawyers in the event that LinkedIn iterates its own version of the app" I can't tell if it's misused or I'm missing something.

Next iteration/version of their API, i.e. Improved with new funcionality or functionality that got deceased.

Re: How LinkedIn betrayed a 5-man startup

#15

Post by jayp »

eropple wrote: post #11
jayp wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A factual error is a factual error. Definitely lowers the credibility of the article for me.

That's a foolish and shortsighted way of looking at it. My company's headquarters is in Newton, MA, but if we're flying people in to talk, they universally say "Boston". Because to people not from the area, that's what it is . Synecdoche is a part of English (San Francisco being the most notable part of Silicon Valley). It may upset the overly pedantic, but...oh well?

I agree with you from the perspective of people of France (or anyone outside the area). And that point is not lost on me.

I am talking about the credibility of the author. The line referenced in the article is written by the author. They are not words attributed to others in a quote. If it's not in a quote, the author takes on the responsibility with respect to the correctness of the fact. If the author can't verify this simple fact, I don't know if I can trust the article with all the one-sided claims presented.

Re: How LinkedIn betrayed a 5-man startup

#17

Post by davesims »

I agree, and Pealk definitely admitted as much, that for a startup, relying on an API is incredibly risky. I'd never be on board with a startup that did, no matter how cool the idea.

But LinkedIn doesn't come off looking great either, and I think that was the thrust of the article. It's pretty concerning that they would spend eight weeks talking nice with Pealk, all the while sussing out Pealk's position, and then shut off access with no opportunity to negotiate.

What LinkedIn did wasn't illegal, perhaps not even unethical, considering what passes ever-so-vaguely for 'ethical' in the business world these days. But it was, in the strictest definition of the word, crappy.

Re: How LinkedIn betrayed a 5-man startup

#18

Post by dllthomas »

jayp wrote: post #15
eropple wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a foolish and shortsighted way of looking at it. My company's headquarters is in Newton, MA, but if we're flying people in to talk, they universally say "Boston". Because to people not from the area, that's what it is . Synecdoche is a part of English (San Francisco being the most notable part of Silicon Valley). It may upset the overly pedantic, but...oh well?

I agree with you from the perspective of people of France (or anyone outside the area). And that point is not lost on me. I am talking about the credibility of the author. The line referenced in the article is written by the author. They are not words attributed to others in a quote. If it's not in a quote, the author takes on the responsibility with respect to the correctness of the fact. If the author can't verify…

That they can't be troubled to verify facts that don't have any relevance whatsoever to the content of the post should only very weakly effect your expectation of whether they verify facts that are central to the content of the post. Granted, here on the internet, that's not as high a prior as it might be.

Re: How LinkedIn betrayed a 5-man startup

#19

Post by rokhayakebe »

gaborcselle wrote: post #4
jonrussell wrote: post #2

Hi, author here, don't usually [ever] comment on my own work here - but am interested to hear if other devs have had similar or contrasting experiences working with LinkedIn.

In your post, you say "After news of the API cut off, LinkedIn got in touch to suggest a possible trip to its San Francisco HQ" - IIRC, LinkedIn's HQ is in Mountain View, not San Francisco.

I did not downvote you, but I've lived in the US for 11 years, went to different parts of California several times, including a long trip to San Fransisco; to this day I cannot tell you the difference between San Fransisco, Silicon Valley, Mountain View, etc... To me they are really all the same place.

Re: How LinkedIn betrayed a 5-man startup

#20

Post by spinlock »

donretag wrote: post #13

I briefly started working on an application that would have many positive benefits for the LinkedIn community. After reading the API terms and conditions, it was very apparent that I would not have been able to achieve my goals, so I stopped. The terms and conditions are pretty restrictive, but they are provided. I should not have come as a surprise that their API access was cut off. You should not be developing an a…

this is the point I came to make. LinkedIn's TOS specifically disallow apps that cut into their turf. These guys should be negotiating to get their codebase bought and their team acquired.
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