Wow... this is just embarrassing. It's a silly app with a dubious value proposition without any innovation. It will fail.... and Revision3 is a flop as well.

I'm not one to hope that young entrepreneurs fail (karma is a bitch, after all), but I think that this one is indeed hubris 2.0 (or 3.0)...

Digg failed to sell for $150M last year, and if it has grown to 20M uniques, that implies a boost in paper value... but I don't see anyone buying a company where the users can at will take it hostage. Plus, the UGC nature and young demo is a double-edged risk.

Revision3 getting funding is interesting because it shows that Digg's model of UGC is limited: they understand producing content has plenty-o-value.

Disclaimer: I don't view Revision3 as a competitor of ours but technically we too produce video content at WatchMojo.com (the video site, not the blog component)... but even there, I think that the $8M financing puts Rose and company in a corner because the VCs might not get relief (ie. exit).

It's as if no one wants to learn from history, a precursor to hubris.

This one though is just hubris outright because Digg is already a great idea that can't sell, Revision3 will create some conflicts and dilution of attention with Digg...

I'm not sure if Rose and Adelson are solely to be blamed. Someone is giving/getting bad advice.

Wrote on the R3 funding Sunday:
[www.watchmojo.com]

and more today after Pownce:
[www.watchmojo.com]

wow. didn't the alpha just leak out through invites today? seems a little early to start pronouncing it a failure. schadenfreude anyone? plus, i don't really see a lot of evidence of hubris here-- it's not like there was a big splashy launch/party/pr firm retained to pump this up.

Pownce gets more interesting when you realize the incest on the About page. Co-founder Leah is dating co-founder Daniel, and rumors suggest she had a mild fling with co-founder Kevin Rose.

Personally, I can't get past the fact that, as is the case with so many startups, I hate the name. Every time I look at the logo, my eyeballs flash "Ponce" up my optic nerve -- and then all I can think about is Jack White.

And that's not a good thing.

@valleychick: schadenfreude? I think you need to look up what that word means. I think a better wod in this case would have been "jealousy."

Let's look at this product objectively:

1) it's a desktop app that runs only on Mac and Windows
2) it requires a runtime which means that I can't install it on an enterprise computer (since those are usually locked)
3) it replicates functionality found in so many other apps and doesn't bring anything new to the table
4) it requires a large network effect to become useful or ubiquitous - unless my friends are on it, it's as useless as a door-knob
5) did I mention it's nothing new and offers me no new value and it doesn't combine pieces seamlessly?!

So there you go... those are the reasons why this app will fail.

@ figaro:
sorry i wasn't clear: i meant early (perhaps wishful in your case?) schadenfreude that people deemed the app lacking in its first iteration. re: your list, like all things web, i'm sure this is the final version, so you're right. they're clearly going down in flames.

I think I recently read some Mac developers blog, who had a dinner with Kevin, saying he was a guy with "absolutely no ego". So apparently, there is no ego to bruise...

I highly doubt Kevin Rose has ever tried blatantly self promoting his own projects. He seemed excited about it when he mentioned anything about the latest project on the various podcasts he frequents, but I don't think he can be faulted for that.

I genuinely think him and his buddies took a look at the current functionality of the most popular chat clients and found them lacking (gasp!). I can't count the number of errors I've run into trying to transfer a picture or file to a buddy on the AIM network. If this client can solve it I'll be overjoyed.

Setting up events is probably best done with Facebook, but if Pownce can bring something new to the table it could be worth a lot. We'll just have to wait and see.

I feel like Rose gets a lot of undeserved backlash because Digg has made it so big. My official prediction is that Pownce won't be any worse than Treumors.

No, I'm not concerned about being presumptive with an early prediction. The features may improve, Rose and the other backers have a great deal of good will behind them to foster support, they may have some secret weapon... I still do not believe this application (at present and considering future possibilities) can come close to the prior success of Digg or the value of his video network content. If I'm proven wrong, I have no problem with that. Best of luck to the whole crew behind Pownce.

Finally expose him? I'd say rev3 is a failure, I've never even heard talk of it being used by anyone.

Revision3 may not have the audience, but they did get $8 million, and Rose has proven he's a desirable personality/host/piece of content.

when I looked at this site yesterday, i was like, "oh cool" then i was like, "oh wait a minute, i already do this, via email"

Okay, my initial reaction is that Pownce is just another IM client and I can do it all with what I've already got. But, since I got an invite anyway, I checked it out, and here's what's different in my eyes: It's like twitter, only with privacy features. So you can post messages that everyone can see, or you can post for only your friends to see. And that seems to be how it's being used. So Far.

I've got some invites if anyone wants one (they are amazingly easy to come by). Email me at jumbis at jumbis dot com