This had to be the least innovative startup PG has ever invested in. I literally had at least 3 friends quitting Facebook because they couldn't stand SocialCam spam (yes, I am sure there are ways to turn those off, but go ahead and educate half a glob about it -- this crap should be opt-out, not in).<p>Now said that, I'm scared that PG will learn a lesson here and continue this route by investing in more of those, just because it can virally grow (read: spam) on Facebook:<p>PG: what's your idea?<p>Team: we have this awesome website where every click makes a unicorn poops a rainbow bricks!<p>PG: what problem does it solve? how we make money?<p>Team: we haven't figured out this one yet.<p>PG: can we connect via Facebook?<p>Team: oh yes, definitely people will want to share photos of their pooping unicorns with others on their Facebook Wall.<p>PG: ok, that's it! I'm in!
SocialCam's main competitor, Viddy, just raised at a $370M valuation, and some data[1] show SocialCam at around 2X the traction of Viddy (post-sharkfin for both). The modest scale of this acquisition is not the kind of comp you want to see if you're Viddy, especially with their Series B terms[2].<p>I'm curious what the HN crowd thinks – has mobile social video peaked, or has it just not been done well enough yet?<p>1. <a href="http://i.imgur.com/ncvPr.png" rel="nofollow">http://i.imgur.com/ncvPr.png</a>
2. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/viddy-series-b-terms-2012-5" rel="nofollow">http://www.businessinsider.com/viddy-series-b-terms-2012-5</a>
I've said it before, and I'll say it again here:<p>You don't get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.<p>SocialCam negotiated a fantastic deal for themselves. Great sale.
Can someone with more knowledge explain the reasoning behind this?<p>Unfortunately I'm at a loss : (<p>Congrats to the social cam team though - good to see a justin.tv export doing so well.