5 ms·

Brian from Instapaper here. We have no plans to shut the app down, and a big part of the value the app provides (parser improvements, aggregate information on l

Brian from Instapaper here. We have no plans to shut the app down, and a big part of the value the app provides (parser improvements, aggregate information on links) requires the ongoing operation of the service.

AdmiralAsshat 10y ago
Hello, Brian! I hope you will take my skepticism in good humor. While I would delight in Instapaper's prolonged availability, I trust you are aware of the widespread perception that acquisition is where startups go to die [0], to say nothing of the fact that some of Instapaper's competitors have also fallen to the wayside [1]. The final red-light comes from the tendency to make services free right before they shut down, #1 as a last-ditch growth mechanism, and #2 as a means to eliminate any legal recourse should the service suddenly shut down. [0]: https://signalvnoise.com/posts/2777-what-happens-after-yahoo-acquires-you https://signalvnoise.com/posts/2777-what-happens-after-yahoo... [1]: https://readability.com/ https://readability.com/
- bthdonohue 10y ago
  I understand and appreciate the skepticism, however, the reason we're making this change is because we want to provide the best experience for our users. Pinterest receives value from the ongoing operation of Instapaper in the form of continued parsing improvements and aggregate information about links on the web, and that value is enough to justify our relatively small operating costs.
  - nicholassmith 10y ago
    That's quite interesting, are you using Instapaper to allow you to get more expansive testing on the parsing technology before rolling in the main product or are they reasonably lockstep?
  - Splendor 10y ago
    Would you mind elaborating on how Pinterest derives value from your "aggregate information about links on the web"? What types of data do you/they glean through Instapaper?
    - x0x0 10y ago
      A guess -- free supervision of extractors for web page content (people complain if the scraper doesn't work) some notion of link quality
  - reitanqild 10y ago
    For me one part of "growing up" in sw engineering has been that I have started to want to pay reasonable amounts for things I use actively. I see it as an insurance for us users: as long as a significant amount of users are paying keeping the service as-is is a valid alternative for the owners. When it becomes free I fear that someone suddenly starts looking at it as a cost center, I mean: all the benefits you mention seems to be possible without operating an end-user service. Disclaimer: not a paying Instapaper customer, but I am a paying lastpass customer and a paying google docs customer etc etc.
    - canes123456 10y ago
      Being a service that charges money does not guarantee a longer life.
      - ChefDenominator 10y ago
        Guarantee? No. Improve the odds? Yes.
    - kbutler 10y ago
      I don't have a statistical survey, but I have anecdotal evidence of paid services going away, increasing in price dramatically, or remaining the same. Same with free services. I can't honestly say that the paid-for services I use are more likely to remain available than my non-paid services. The key factor appears to be a viable business model, but that's impossible to evaluate from the outside (and sometimes from the inside).
  - vikrantvm 10y ago
    How I wish Pinterest saw some value in keeping Fleksy - the keyboard app they acquired, updated. It is/was one of the best 3rd party keyboards out there, but has gotten buggy with newer iOS.
baldfat 10y ago
I love instapaper! I hope for years and years of service. Thanks for making mobile reading of websites easier. Thanks
bsg75 10y ago
There are a lot of those questions in the blog post. Perhaps an explanation of how Instapaper development helps Pinterest as a whole would assuage some fears?
tomcam 10y ago
I like how seriously Brian answered a post by someone named AdmiralAsshat
- idlewords 10y ago
  Well, the guy is an admiral.
  - eropple 10y ago
    Points off for not saluting.
  - 1123581321 10y ago
    It certainly commands more respect than WarrantOfficerWeenis.
hota_mazi 10y ago
> We have no plans to shut the app down This is a pretty empty claim without a minimum time frame. It would also be more convincing if it came from Ben Silbermann... Hope you forgive the skepticism but I've seen too many start ups being acquired and happily singing the "Our buyer has full confidence in us and will let us operate with 100% independence" cliché quickly followed a few months later by "We are sorry to announce that we're shutting down".
- hullo 10y ago
  "Hi I just got something for free and I'd like the opportunity to complain about it now." I mean he said there are no plans to shut it down. What timeframe? You want a promise that for X years you'll continue to receive this service for free, unchanged? They're extending the value. There's literally nothing to be grumpy about.
  - zodPod 10y ago
    Except you literally just stated what there is to be grumpy about. > "..I just got something for free and .." What you're saying is now that they got it for free they have no right to complain about the fear of it being unstable. Which is EXACTLY why people are having an issue here. They are fearing that the fact that it is free means it also won't be able to be relied upon and you just proved why they are saying that. If you pay for something you have some recourse. If it's 100% free for everyone and shuts down, well shit. Guess all of your stuff is gone and you have to go elsewhere.
    - ChrisLTD 10y ago
      There is no guarantee even if you paid for Instapaper that it would continue as a service.
nashequilibrium 10y ago
Hi Brian, I currently use pocket, why should I use Instapaper instead, is there any differentiation? I also receive the Instapaper weekly emails, which I love for the curation of top stories. Thanks.
- frankquist 10y ago
  See downthread for some comparisons :)
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
toomuchtodo 10y ago
Hey Brian! Thanks so much for dropping into this thread. Would Pinterest be willing to open source non-competitive pieces of Instapaper's tooling, considering the user base is what is of value (monitoring parser and link quality)?
dotancohen 10y ago
Hi Brian. OT question if I may: I have a rooted B&N Nook that I would love to install Instapaper on, but the device does not have access to Google Play. The lack of an available .apk file is what led me away from Instapaper, even though I was already a paying Premium member. How can I get my hands on the official .apk?

AdmiralAsshat 10y ago

Hello, Brian! I hope you will take my skepticism in good humor. While I would delight in Instapaper's prolonged availability, I trust you are aware of the widespread perception that acquisition is where startups go to die [0], to say nothing of the fact that some of Instapaper's competitors have also fallen to the wayside [1]. The final red-light comes from the tendency to make services free right before they shut down, #1 as a last-ditch growth mechanism, and #2 as a means to eliminate any legal recourse should the service suddenly shut down. [0]: https://signalvnoise.com/posts/2777-what-happens-after-yahoo-acquires-you https://signalvnoise.com/posts/2777-what-happens-after-yahoo... [1]: https://readability.com/ https://readability.com/

bthdonohue 10y ago
I understand and appreciate the skepticism, however, the reason we're making this change is because we want to provide the best experience for our users. Pinterest receives value from the ongoing operation of Instapaper in the form of continued parsing improvements and aggregate information about links on the web, and that value is enough to justify our relatively small operating costs.
- nicholassmith 10y ago
  That's quite interesting, are you using Instapaper to allow you to get more expansive testing on the parsing technology before rolling in the main product or are they reasonably lockstep?
- Splendor 10y ago
  Would you mind elaborating on how Pinterest derives value from your "aggregate information about links on the web"? What types of data do you/they glean through Instapaper?
  - x0x0 10y ago
    A guess -- free supervision of extractors for web page content (people complain if the scraper doesn't work) some notion of link quality
- reitanqild 10y ago
  For me one part of "growing up" in sw engineering has been that I have started to want to pay reasonable amounts for things I use actively. I see it as an insurance for us users: as long as a significant amount of users are paying keeping the service as-is is a valid alternative for the owners. When it becomes free I fear that someone suddenly starts looking at it as a cost center, I mean: all the benefits you mention seems to be possible without operating an end-user service. Disclaimer: not a paying Instapaper customer, but I am a paying lastpass customer and a paying google docs customer etc etc.
  - canes123456 10y ago
    Being a service that charges money does not guarantee a longer life.
    - ChefDenominator 10y ago
      Guarantee? No. Improve the odds? Yes.
  - kbutler 10y ago
    I don't have a statistical survey, but I have anecdotal evidence of paid services going away, increasing in price dramatically, or remaining the same. Same with free services. I can't honestly say that the paid-for services I use are more likely to remain available than my non-paid services. The key factor appears to be a viable business model, but that's impossible to evaluate from the outside (and sometimes from the inside).
- vikrantvm 10y ago
  How I wish Pinterest saw some value in keeping Fleksy - the keyboard app they acquired, updated. It is/was one of the best 3rd party keyboards out there, but has gotten buggy with newer iOS.

baldfat 10y ago

I love instapaper! I hope for years and years of service. Thanks for making mobile reading of websites easier. Thanks

bsg75 10y ago

There are a lot of those questions in the blog post. Perhaps an explanation of how Instapaper development helps Pinterest as a whole would assuage some fears?

tomcam 10y ago

I like how seriously Brian answered a post by someone named AdmiralAsshat

idlewords 10y ago
Well, the guy is an admiral.
- eropple 10y ago
  Points off for not saluting.
- 1123581321 10y ago
  It certainly commands more respect than WarrantOfficerWeenis.

hota_mazi 10y ago

> We have no plans to shut the app down This is a pretty empty claim without a minimum time frame. It would also be more convincing if it came from Ben Silbermann... Hope you forgive the skepticism but I've seen too many start ups being acquired and happily singing the "Our buyer has full confidence in us and will let us operate with 100% independence" cliché quickly followed a few months later by "We are sorry to announce that we're shutting down".

hullo 10y ago
"Hi I just got something for free and I'd like the opportunity to complain about it now." I mean he said there are no plans to shut it down. What timeframe? You want a promise that for X years you'll continue to receive this service for free, unchanged? They're extending the value. There's literally nothing to be grumpy about.
- zodPod 10y ago
  Except you literally just stated what there is to be grumpy about. > "..I just got something for free and .." What you're saying is now that they got it for free they have no right to complain about the fear of it being unstable. Which is EXACTLY why people are having an issue here. They are fearing that the fact that it is free means it also won't be able to be relied upon and you just proved why they are saying that. If you pay for something you have some recourse. If it's 100% free for everyone and shuts down, well shit. Guess all of your stuff is gone and you have to go elsewhere.
  - ChrisLTD 10y ago
    There is no guarantee even if you paid for Instapaper that it would continue as a service.

nashequilibrium 10y ago

Hi Brian, I currently use pocket, why should I use Instapaper instead, is there any differentiation? I also receive the Instapaper weekly emails, which I love for the curation of top stories. Thanks.

frankquist 10y ago
See downthread for some comparisons :)

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

toomuchtodo 10y ago

Hey Brian! Thanks so much for dropping into this thread. Would Pinterest be willing to open source non-competitive pieces of Instapaper's tooling, considering the user base is what is of value (monitoring parser and link quality)?

dotancohen 10y ago

Hi Brian. OT question if I may: I have a rooted B&N Nook that I would love to install Instapaper on, but the device does not have access to Google Play. The lack of an available .apk file is what led me away from Instapaper, even though I was already a paying Premium member. How can I get my hands on the official .apk?