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Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did

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Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did

#41

Post by gnaritas »

amichail wrote: post #33
pg wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook didn't do anything wrong. Tipjoy was out of money. They'd been talking to several potential acquirers, including Facebook, but those deals all fell through. So the Tipjoys were going to have to get jobs somewhere. Since they were worried about money and Ivan admired the hackers at Facebook, I asked FB if they'd offer him a job, and they did. It doesn't portend anything for the future of startups, as this sto…

Comparing this to voting, most people vote because they want to be seen in a good light by their friends and family (and some vote because they don't understand probability). Perhaps some sort of similar social pressure could have been employed with TipJoy.

Understanding probability is not a reason to not vote.

Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did

#42

Post by amichail »

cyunker wrote: post #36
amichail wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Comparing this to voting, most people vote because they want to be seen in a good light by their friends and family (and some vote because they don't understand probability). Perhaps some sort of similar social pressure could have been employed with TipJoy.

My contribution voting makes as much difference as it should: 1 person = 1 vote. By your logic, I guess I shouldn't worry about my carbon footprint.

Whether you should worry about your carbon footprint depends a lot on what your friends and/or family think of the issue. On a practical individual level, it's all about looking good in front of your friends and/or family.

Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did

#43

Post by adrianwaj »

pg wrote: post #26
medianama wrote: post #10

I would like to hear PG's (or other investors) views on this.

Facebook didn't do anything wrong. Tipjoy was out of money. They'd been talking to several potential acquirers, including Facebook, but those deals all fell through. So the Tipjoys were going to have to get jobs somewhere. Since they were worried about money and Ivan admired the hackers at Facebook, I asked FB if they'd offer him a job, and they did. It doesn't portend anything for the future of startups, as this sto…

I wonder if they fell through, because in Kirigin's words:

"We strongly believe that social payments will work on a social network, provided that they’re done within the platform and not as a 3rd party."

So at that realization the acquirers decided to build rather than buy.

Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did

#44

Post by amichail »

gnaritas wrote: post #41
amichail wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Comparing this to voting, most people vote because they want to be seen in a good light by their friends and family (and some vote because they don't understand probability). Perhaps some sort of similar social pressure could have been employed with TipJoy.

Understanding probability is not a reason to not vote.

From: http://web.bsu.edu/cob/econ/research/papers/bohanon2002ir.pd...

Public-choice scholars have long argued that voting is instrumentally irrational because the probability that a single vote will change the outcome of an election is nearly zero. Dennis Mueller made the point well when he noted that "the probability of being run over by a car going to or returning from the polls is similar to the probability of casting the decisive vote. If being run over is worse than having one’s preferred candidate lose, then this potential cost of voting alone would exceed the potential gain" (1989, 350).

Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did

#45

Post by kyro »

mattmaroon wrote: post #39
pakafka wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ivan, I'm noting your comment, and Paul's, on my post. But the offer I made multiple times to you and Abby still stands -- if there's more info that you want to get out, I'm happy to chat. pk

This is my favorite online "journalism" technique ever. When someone you want a scoop from won't comment, just make a bunch of crap up and then when they get angry say "hey feel free to comment".

No Matt, it's not that. It's writing up a story, not having received comments from one party, explaining how you've given the party many chances to comment on the matter, for honesty's sake and the integrity of journalism, yet never considering that perhaps that party's refusal to comment could be due to other matters, legal or what have you, and indirectly making that party look shady for not returning the honest gesture.

Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did

#46

Post by sabon »

ivankirigin wrote: post #6

This completely doesn't tell the whole story, and those of you commenting should realize that.

And just yesterday or 2 days ago I wrote this under the story of TipJoy shutting down:

"The whole story seems to repeatedly wave the arms and shout:

"Hey, Twitter! Hey, Facebook! Here we are! We know how to do this! Hire us, hire us, hire us!!!".

At least that's how I read the story. And I'm quite convinced it's their intent. Which shouldn't be a bad thing too.

Well, of course customers' money is the most important thing, no doubt about it.

But it struck me that you mentioned several times in the article that you know what and how to do, you just don't have the leverage of being the main body. Why would you deny it? Is it something bad? I don't think so. Would you refuse if Twitter or Facebook approached you with a decent offer?"

And for this I was severely downmodded. Well, wasn't the part of Facebook approaching you right? In my opinion you should have made this known to give people the full picture. For them to judge and make opinions having all the facts, not some of them.

Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did

#47

Post by gnaritas »

amichail wrote: post #44
gnaritas wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Understanding probability is not a reason to not vote.

From: http://web.bsu.edu/cob/econ/research/papers/bohanon2002ir.pd... Public-choice scholars have long argued that voting is instrumentally irrational because the probability that a single vote will change the outcome of an election is nearly zero. Dennis Mueller made the point well when he noted that "the probability of being run over by a car going to or returning from the polls is similar to the probability of cas…

By that logic no one should bother voting, in which case the entire system would fail to work at all, obviously a flawed outcome. Thus voting does matter, so you should vote. Worrying about the probability of your vote being the winning vote is pointless, there is no winning vote. If the election was decided by a single vote, then every single vote counted and as mattered just as much as the last vote.

While your individual vote might not statistically matter in choosing the winner, in aggregate, it most certainly does. Voting is not an individual thing, it's a collective thing and judging it by the individual is simply the wrong approach.

Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did

#48

Post by [deleted] »

gnaritas wrote: post #47
amichail wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From: http://web.bsu.edu/cob/econ/research/papers/bohanon2002ir.pd... Public-choice scholars have long argued that voting is instrumentally irrational because the probability that a single vote will change the outcome of an election is nearly zero. Dennis Mueller made the point well when he noted that "the probability of being run over by a car going to or returning from the polls is similar to the probability of cas…

By that logic no one should bother voting, in which case the entire system would fail to work at all, obviously a flawed outcome. Thus voting does matter, so you should vote. Worrying about the probability of your vote being the winning vote is pointless, there is no winning vote. If the election was decided by a single vote, then every single vote counted and as mattered just as much as the last vote. While your ind…

[deleted]

Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did

#49

Post by gizmo »

pakafka wrote: post #40
mattmaroon wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is my favorite online "journalism" technique ever. When someone you want a scoop from won't comment, just make a bunch of crap up and then when they get angry say "hey feel free to comment".

What part is made up?

The part about the $1 million VC money. But perhaps it wasn't you who made it up.

Re: Facebook, TipJoy, the Deal that Didn’t Happen and the Hire that Did

#50

Post by scott_s »

pakafka wrote: post #40
mattmaroon wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is my favorite online "journalism" technique ever. When someone you want a scoop from won't comment, just make a bunch of crap up and then when they get angry say "hey feel free to comment".

What part is made up?

How much time did you give them to respond before posting your story?
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