DISQUS

louisgray.com: louisgray.com: Hi Facebook, It's Me, FriendFeed. This Relationship? It's Complicated.

  • Brad Williamson · 4 months ago
    Like, I'm SERIOUSLY concerned about this. Facebook best not touch one single hair on FriendFeed's pretty little head.
  • Steve · 4 months ago
    Because just like in high school, sometimes the sweaty jock who doesn't wash his hands after using the john still gets the best girl - while those of us who carried her books and wrote her poetic love letters and timed our walking to go by her locker at just the right time find ourselves on the outside looking in again." You nailed it Louis!
  • Rob Michael (Atmos Trio) · 4 months ago
    Super-poke.
  • Franklin · 4 months ago
    I am bummed. Good post Louis.
  • trentono · 4 months ago
    Great post, Louis. I love how it's not only about the acquisition, but also a tribute to the late John Hughes. Bravo!
  • jcunwired · 4 months ago
    That was quick! Look forward to reading this one!
  • Francine Hardaway · 4 months ago
    Yes, but I do like the potential
  • nicefishfilms · 4 months ago
    was waiting for this! nicely done, adding it to the coverage.
  • Kali · 4 months ago
    Nice post, Louis. Was waiting to see what you'd write. :)
  • Anthony Farrior · 4 months ago
    Best post for 2009....smh
  • Bindu Reddy · 4 months ago
    Great post. Very well written
  • Jim, Now With Caffeine · 4 months ago
    this is perfect, Louis. Nicely done.
  • andy brudtkuhl · 4 months ago
    well said
  • Mark Krynsky · 4 months ago
    Well said Louis. This is the big question.
  • Mark Aitken · 4 months ago
    My immediate reaction was Facebook will push ads onto their users. I think FriendFeed could be seriously screwed up with live moving ads, so that's hopefully out of the picture from a purely usability view. Friendfeed is all about realtime web information. I then wonder how in that case will the monetise the relationship. My guess? Facebook will show live conversations and hopefully they will rip out the poor IM implementation in Facebook. The purchase may be nothing more sinister, I hope...
  • dcfemella · 4 months ago
    Love the analogy
  • abrudtkuhl · 4 months ago
    well said, well said.
  • Ladybug Heather · 4 months ago
    Okay, so now I'm ready to cry. Excellent post, Louis. Thank you!
  • jcunwired · 4 months ago
    Excellent, you've captured my sentiment very well. Mark - I disagree. FF is an excellent platform for floating ads based upon our behavior, and it is just about the only platform in existence where the algorithms for ad placement could have been done right - and welcomed.
  • nicefishfilms · 4 months ago
    It is my hope that they continue to let FriendFeed innovate, roll-out the features on FF and let the community test out the advances first. Have to agree with Leo Laporte here - "Facebook shows its leadership. Combining public and private facing services is a big win. Facefeed is a winner."

    Our little community hits the big-time, shouldn't we celebrate tonight with a cheer to success?
  • Sampad Swain · 4 months ago
    One of the best (sarcastic) post I've ever seen Mr. Gray. Good one!
  • anna mobsauce · 4 months ago
    "FriendFeed is the one that has a 4.0 GPA and had big dreams of an Ivy League diploma. And yet, she ends up with you - the Silicon Valley equivalent of your local state school. When you come rolling in with your heavy car, big wheels and pumping bass, we don't care how much money you say you're worth - we still don't trust your grin when you open the door and say "hop in"."
  • anna mobsauce · 4 months ago
    I'm *loving* the high school stereotypes as metaphor, btw.
  • Mark Aitken · 4 months ago
    jcunwired - I hope it's unobtrusive, don't mind people making money, but lets hope it's sensible. My worst fear is FF is seen as a threat and silenced, but I'd doubt Zuckerberg would be so brash..
  • Roberto Bonini · 4 months ago
    Very nicely done. Puts feelings across perfectly.
  • Daniel J. Pritchett · 4 months ago
    Louis's reaction is the one I most wanted to see. Thanks for not disappointing us, man!
  • Dawn Douglass · 4 months ago
    LOL This is the best blog post I've read in a long, long time, including my own. Hit the nail on the head, Louis!! Brilliantly said.
  • Mathew A. Koeneker · 4 months ago
    Odd that I chose FB connect to make my comment but you hit the nail on the head Louis. I am happy for the Friendfeed team but a wee bit worried about the outcome.
    mak
  • elliottng · 4 months ago
    Amazing post Louis! It is the circle of life in the Valley...
  • Daniel J. Pritchett · 4 months ago
    This metaphor reminds me of the "Forrest Pimp" strip on Sinfest a few years back: http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID...
  • Worldof Higlet · 4 months ago
    Ah, Louis - eloquently put. I want to feel glad for Friendfeed that they have secured their future - but at what price?

    We are watching.
  • WorldofHiglet · 4 months ago
    We are watching.
  • Ari Herzog · 4 months ago
    ...as others commented above, it's great FriendFeed was bought; but why Facebook and what does this mean looking forward in digital technology? And where will Google Wave fit in?
  • John Mueller · 4 months ago
    Nice post.
  • Matthew Horton · 4 months ago
    Brilliantly said. Don't think it could have been said better!
  • Michael Fidler · 4 months ago
    I just learned about this minutes ago. Louis it's not 4 big companies. there will only be two after Microsoft merges/acquires Facebook and Google buys Twitter. This move makes perfect sense for Facebook and it's what their SocialTV initiative needed to really work. I see big things for it in Facebook's future. I don't know how I feel about it though!
  • Paul Chaney · 4 months ago
    Kudos to Michael for getting it right. Not four companies, but two: Microsoft and Google. Don't couch it in any other fashion.

    It's just a matter of time until Google buys Twitter. There's plenty of precedent. It's not a matter of if, but when. Microsoft was smart to get their claws into Facebook when they did. It's another place for Bing to shine all the more brightly.

    So, I'm with Michael -- two companies, not four.
  • StevenMoore · 4 months ago
    When I got the news.. I felt ??? lost for a while. I like FF and liked that it was not a Twitter or Facebook. Good for them. Behind the walled garden they go...
  • Matthew DeVries · 4 months ago
    Wow....vicious.... Pure perfect.
  • Dawn · 4 months ago
    Somebody wrote that this is just about getting FF's tech talent. Don't you love how all these social networks conveniently forget who it is who makes them valuable?
  • Matthew DeVries · 4 months ago
    "Me? I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly, it's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly... stupid." – Captain Jack Sparrow
  • Matthew DeVries · 4 months ago
    Brilliant writing Louis.....
  • Joelle Nebbe (iphigenie) · 4 months ago
    That was a very enjoyable read :) And the point about bright startups having dim perspectives at the end is alas the truth at the moment: you have to be able to bootstrap your finance, have revenue from the start (membership, affiliates, whatever) that funds your growth. Or find a way to get sold to the big boys (although there are big boys outside the immediate industry that might start shopping - old IT, games, telcos and don't discount people like GE etc.) That's all that's left after 2 market crashes... so that does not leave much in the way of exit strategies. Plan to have to stay with your business for longer, better make sure it pays you well and stays fun
  • Aad 't Hart · 4 months ago
    This is one of the coolest stories I've ever read... I'm also worried about the marriage and for some unknown reason don't feel good about it.... FriendFeed stands for open, sharing the friendly goods... while Facebook stands for closed, pushing adds and interfering...

    I guess it's a good money deal and good for the ones that got rich.... but where does that leave me as a FriendFeed supporter... ;-)
  • Gunnar Östergren · 4 months ago
    Good one Louis! Very funny. Well, except for the "end up with four mega-companies" part. That's outright scary.
  • Rishabh Mishra (possible248) · 4 months ago
    Wow.

    Your post is excellent. It explains my emotions in manner I could never replicate and with detail that I could never articulate.

    Oh, and apparently the FriendFeed alcohol party was not related to the Facebook deal, according to Tudor Bosman.

    Again, *wonderful* post. I just hope that this somehow evolves into something better.
  • Melanie Reed · 4 months ago
    Indeed, Mr. Gray. Thank you for stating that.
  • mellieReed · 4 months ago
    Indeed, Mr. Gray. Thank you for stating that.
  • Kate Foy · 4 months ago
    Nice analogy from @LouisGray on Facebook's buying FriendFeed: the jock gets the good girl.
  • JCunwired · 4 months ago
    Has anyone told Facebook yet that you are a part of the deal? :-D
  • kafkaz · 4 months ago
    No, no--it's more like the good girl geek ended up with a junior high dropout. Sigh.
  • Alex Covic · 4 months ago
    I love this post. Says it all. Now I need to find a corner and cry...
  • marshal sandler · 4 months ago
    Excellent read, If Google Buys Twitter-I would then like to see Google buy Likaholix-I don't know much About Friendfeed, but I can see Google's management style and any of these applications are going to have someone with deep pockets to Monetize and Brand Them! Nice to see people rewarded for their efforts !
  • AlexSchleber · 4 months ago
    Wow Louis, congrats on keeping your wits about you to write this powerful post. Your analogy reminds me of the quote from Dickipedia.org I used to point people to at times:

    "In 2004, Zuckerberg debuted a primitive online social networking site called Facebook, named for the annual publication that collegiate upper classmen use to identify attractive freshmen girls with low self-esteem. At the time, Zukerberg planned to offer the service only to students within the Ivy League, because, as is widely known, Ivy League students have long had problems finding ways to network with one another."
  • Joe Dawson · 4 months ago
    I'm disappointed and wish I could summarise but at the moment I'm scratching my head. I like the context of your thought process behind this aquisition and feel the same! This gets a big thumbs down!!!
  • Joe Dawson · 4 months ago
    The aquisition that is because Friendfeed had great vision and now that's sure to change with the overbearing 'boyfriend'...
  • Dr. Thomas Ho · 4 months ago
    Maybe, now more people will "get" FriendFeed! Facebook could certainly help.
  • John E. Bredehoft (Empoprises) · 4 months ago
    While we often sympathize with the smart guy who loses out to the uncouth jock, the truth is that smarts don't win. In Charles Atlas terms, Facebook is the strong, buff, 250 pound guy, while FriendFeed is the 1 pound weakling. Or Facebook is VHS and FriendFeed is BetaMax. While there are a number of FriendFeed lovers (and I count myself among that number), there were just too few of us to make FriendFeed a viable proposition.
  • John E. Bredehoft (Empoprises) · 4 months ago
    See my subsequent thoughts on FriendFeed's paltry user base and other issues.
  • ChangeForge | Ken Stewart · 4 months ago
    Louis, this is an honest and on-point metaphor. I love this entire post and agree with it completely... but always remember Rule #1... I hate it, but I expect FriendFeed to end up being robbed for her parts and transplanted into Facebook... Let the Frankenstein-fest of this beloved service begin; I'm braced, but please be gentle!
  • Myrna · 4 months ago
    Louis, what a endearing and loving excellent post. My eyes are watery. TY!
  • Fajar · 4 months ago
    Well said Louis! We ARE watching!
  • Alcarcalimo · 4 months ago
    Somehow the name Facefeed came to mind ... eeew
  • Fajar · 4 months ago
    Eww.. somehow that just gross :P
  • SharelOmer · 4 months ago
    A great way to look at Facebook FriendFeed merge and the "free" web2.0 economy... Imagine if Google will buy twitter... i will love to read more about this scenario...
  • Nate Pilling · 4 months ago
    Excellent thoughts. Thanks Louis! I consciously came to your blog when I saw that FriendFeed had been purchased to see your thoughts. My feelings exactly. We'll be watching you Facebook.
  • aldamiz · 4 months ago
    Very well said Louis, agree with you on the content and the way you said it is nice (beautiful, can I say?:)
  • drewolanoff · 4 months ago
    I've said it before and I'm saying it again. "The People are the Platform."
  • Simon · 4 months ago
    Something about this deal doesn't pass the smell test.
  • HanhDBrown · 4 months ago
    Hi Louis! You are an eloquent writer.. I enjoyed reading your analogy and had some chuckles than I am concerned for Friendfeed. They are all big boys/girls and can handle the repercussions of the acquisition.

    Congrats on your twins!