Friendster Has None:
This NY Times examination of why Friendster is now a Silicon Valley cautionary tale has been jumping around the web lately. It paints Friendster as a classic tale of Valley hubris gone wrong–A headstrong CEO, investors drunk on hype, product flaws papered over and a blurry eye towards competitors. But it misses one crucial point in a haze of euphemism describing Friendster founder Jonathan Abrams.
“Jonathan is very much an acquired taste,” said Larissa Le, a former Friendster employee and longtime friend of Mr. Abrams. “He’s your typical engineer from the Valley who can come off as very arrogant.” For a time Mr. Abrams, then in his early 30’s, cut a high profile in the Valley, showing up regularly at parties with a strikingly attractive woman on each arm and his head in the stars.
An “acquired taste?” Let’s get one thing straight. I ran into Jonathan Abrams several times at different events and never found him to be an “acquired taste”.” I found him arrogant, standoffish and rude. That may be fine if your that attitude commits you to running a strong business or at the very least gets your company some buzz. It does not work if your company is called Friendster and the founder, the company’s public face is no one you’d want to be friends with