Filed under: News, Blogging, Web services, web 2.0
Pownce gets pwned: Six Apart acquires and plans to shutter service
Do you still use your Pownce account? I stopped using mine months ago. I don't even know if I remember the password. If you do still use Pownce, the Twitter-like microblogging service that just never seemed to capitalize on its early hype, start preparing to migrate to something new. Today, Six Apart, the company behind Movable Type, TypePad and Vox, announced that it has acquired Pownce and will be shuttering the service in two weeks. Lead Pownce developers Leah Culver and Mike Malone will continue on at Six Apart, where presumably some of Pownce's features will be rolled into Vox.
Hey, at least there is Twitter! Seriously though, Pownce's failure is proof that hype alone will not make a product or company a success. As our own Nik Fletcher pointed out, Pownce is the perfect example of how NOT having a useful API at launch or soon thereafter is a huge mistake. Especially if you are trying to do the whole microblogging thing.
Not to get all Valleywag, but didn't Six Apart just lay off 8% of its staff, like three weeks ago? I don't know the particulars of either situation -- but simply on the surface, that's cold. Did something miraculously change or was this part of the plan the whole time?
If you are worried about losing your messages once Pownce powers down its service, the Pownce team has created an export tool which will generate a file (I'm guess its XML. I haven't had a chance to look at it) that can then be imported into Vox, WordPress or TypePad.
Fittingly, the discussion of Pownce's demise is much more active on Twitter and Friendfeed than on Pownce itself.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Eli Gundry said 7:48PM on 12-01-2008
When I saw that pic, I thought "Is that their new logo?" Upon further investigation, I now wonder why it's not their new logo.
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Christina Warren said 8:56PM on 12-01-2008
Heh. They are welcome to it for the next two weeks. :-)
WolvenSpectre said 9:12PM on 12-01-2008
I have been using it since beta and love it. I can't twitter in 140 char and I didn't use it for blogging. I met and freinded alot of good people, but many had freinds on twitter that would only use twitter, and all the thrid party services made from the API didn't show your freinds posts like the main service.
It was a great service and had great features with my only complaint was a minor display problem in the Opera browser (my main browser).
I can't wait for Pownce 2.0 at Six Apart
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Dom said 4:41AM on 12-02-2008
Why shut down Pownce? I signed up when it first opened, but haven't really used it since. It seems strange that Six Apart would (presumably) spend good money on it and then just close it down. If they wanted to use the technology behind it, could Pownce not just licence their intellectual property to Six Apart? It would create an extra revenue stream to keep them going.
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Josh said 8:52AM on 12-02-2008
I think this was more an acquisition of the people who made Pownce than the actual technology. I am sure they will incorporate Pownce features into Vox and whatnot but this was geared more towards a future product, I think. Pownce didn't succeed by the developers behind it did a really find job and I look forward to their future developments.
Christina Warren said 9:46AM on 12-02-2008
I agree with Josh -- I think this was more about hiring the developers and getting the IP as a bonus. Think about it: Pownce was written in the truly awesome Django (which is a Python framework). Most SX properties are Perl-based, though MT and possibly Vox have PHP properties too. It isn't something that can just be plugged into their existing systems, much of the base would need to be rewritten. So I think they get some of the tech, or if nothing else, the experiences of creating and managing a service like that and they get the talented devs for the SA team.
I don't think we'll ever see Pownce 2.0, but I do think we'll see Pownce/Tumblr like features coming to Vox.