Comment by zamalek
11 years ago
Zuckerberg sure has been interesting this week:
> Developers please use our platform!
> Developers we are now going to obsolete any work you've done with the XMPP front-end.
Demonstrating a clear moving target is not how you attract developers, Facebook.
It all reminds me of this post: http://daltoncaldwell.com/dear-mark-zuckerberg
Facebook is trying to make the platform too good for startups to resist building on. By the time something built on the platform emerges as a success, Facebook can either heavy-hand them into an acquisition, or lock them out and take away their momentum.
It's as though they are trying to get everyone else to do their RND. You float the risk and if it works they implement it. Genius, really.
The latter seemed obvious to many people though. I think a lot of people ran with that risk anyway in hopes of becoming an acquisition.