The Feed: Facebook Buys FriendFeed

There is a deal announced this week, and the deal is the feed: the Facebook agreement to acquire FriendFeed, the real time sharing service, on Monday. The deal is the surprise: the social network that bought the team from Google, the undisclosed price, reported near fifty million dollars. The questions began that day: what would happen to FriendFeed, what Facebook had actually bought. The Feed is the August 2009 story, and the story is the lesson: the real time web that became the prize.

The Feed is the subject of this article: what Facebook announced on Monday, who built FriendFeed, why real time is the obsession of 2009, and what the acquisition means.

1. The Announcement on Monday

The announcement is the news, and the news is the Monday: the August 10 statement from Facebook, the agreement to acquire FriendFeed, the real time sharing service that the early adopters loved. The announcement is the report: the posts that spread that afternoon, the price that was undisclosed, the reports that put the deal at around fifty million dollars, the number that was not confirmed, the questions that were not answered. The announcement is the moment: the web that stopped, the commentators who reached for the analysis, the blog posts that began that hour, the conversation that would not end.

The announcement is also the week: the days since Monday morning, the questions that have not been answered, the long term plans still being figured out, the service that keeps running for now. The announcement is the August 2009 context: the Facebook that passed 250 million users, the FriendFeed that stayed small, the real time web that every company wanted, the reasons that were given, the doubts that were voiced. The announcement on Monday was the beginning, and the beginning was the deal: the team that will be watched, the stream that will be tested, the web that will be changed.

2. The Real Time Service

The service is the product, and the product is the stream: the FriendFeed that gathered your friends' activity across the web, the Twitter posts and the Flickr photos and the blog entries and the YouTube videos, all folded into one real time feed, the stream that moved as the web moved. The service is the idea: the single place where everything appeared, the river of updates that flowed without refreshing, the conversation that happened around the links. The service is the craft: the aggregation that worked, the comments that gathered, the early adopters who never left, the product the insiders swore by.

The service is also the size: the small user base, the beloved audience, the cult that the mainstream never joined, the love the numbers never matched. The service is the paradox: the product that the technologists adored, the numbers that never followed, the influence that ran ahead of the adoption. The service is the lesson in miniature: the web moving toward real time, the feed becoming the interface, the stream becoming the habit. The real time service was the artifact, and the artifact was the proof: the design that the giants noticed, the feed that Facebook wanted, the stream that defined a year.

3. The Founders

The founders are the origin, and the origin is Google: the FriendFeed that was founded in 2007 by Bret Taylor, Paul Buchheit, Jim Norris and Sanjeev Singh, the four who left the search giant to build something new, the service that was their second act. The founders are the pedigree: the Buchheit who created Gmail, the engineers who shipped the products that defined the web, the team that came from the search giant. The founders are the brain trust: the team from Google, the talent that the industry knew by name, the group that Silicon Valley watched closely, the names everyone knew.

The founders are also the prize: the reason the deal matters, the team that Facebook bought, the expertise that cannot be priced. The founders are the future: the Taylor who will lead the platform products, the engineers who will build the next features, the minds that will shape what 250 million users see. The founders are the message: the acquisition that was about people, the price that was about pedigree, the deal that was about the team. The founders were the acquisition, and the acquisition was the point: the talent that Facebook wanted, the real time knowledge the giants lacked, the team that became the prize.

4. The Buyer

The buyer is the company, and the company is Facebook: the social network that passed 250 million users in July, the site where a quarter of a billion people share their lives, the platform that the world logged into, the home of the social graph. The buyer is the ambition: the network that wants the stream, the platform that wants the real time, the company that refuses to fall behind. The buyer is the move: the first notable engineering acquisition, the first big purchase of talent, the step that the industry noticed, the purchase that the analysts discussed at length.

The buyer is also the defense: the Facebook that watches Twitter grow, the network that fears the stream, the company that needs the real time expertise. The buyer is the strategy: the acquisition that brings the engineers, the deal that brings the knowledge, the purchase that brings the feed. The buyer is the message: the social network that will not be outrun, the platform that will build the stream itself, the company that bought the future. The buyer was the believer, and the believer was the bet: the undisclosed price, the reported fifty million, the value Facebook placed on the real time web.

5. The Real Time Web

The web is the context, and the context is real time: the stream that replaced the page, the updates that replaced the posts, the feed that replaced the visit. The web is the shift: the Twitter that grew through 2009, the protests in Iran in June that unfolded live, the moment when the world watched events as they happened, the news that broke on the stream. The web is the obsession: the real time that every company chased, the stream that every product wanted, the feed that defined the year, the stream that would not wait, the feed that never slept.

The web is also the competition: the Facebook that needed the stream, the Twitter that owned the stream, the race that would decide the interface. The web is the stakes: the attention that moved in real time, the conversations that left the page, the news that broke on the feed. The web is the reading: the acquisition that was a defense, the deal that was a confession, the purchase that said real time was the future. The real time web was the field, and the field was the prize: the stream that everyone wanted, the feed Facebook just bought, the war that was beginning.

6. The Twitter Question

The question is the rival, and the rival is Twitter: the service that grew through 2009, the stream that the world talked about, the real time that Facebook needed most. The question is the fear: the network that could pull the attention away, the feed that could become the home page, the platform that could challenge the social graph, the feed that could steal the attention away. The question is the answer: the acquisition that brought the expertise, the team that truly understood the stream, the engineers who could build what Facebook lacked, the minds who knew the stream best.

The question is also the strategy: the defense announced on Monday, the move that said Facebook would not cede the real time, the deal that brought the fight home. The question is the silence: the price that was undisclosed, the plans still being figured out, the product that keeps running for now. The question is the year: the real time that is the obsession of 2009, the race through the fall, the rivalry that will define the moment. The Twitter question was the context, and the context was the deal: the expertise that Facebook bought, the announced defense, the war that was on.

7. The Team, Not the Product

The deal is the reading, and the reading is the team: the Facebook that bought people, not pages, the acquisition that valued the engineers, the purchase that was about the brain trust, the deal that was about the builders themselves. The deal is the evidence: the founders from Google, the Gmail creator, the platform leader to be, the talent that the price described, the pedigree that the reports repeated. The deal is the logic: the product that stayed small, the service that kept running, the stream that would change, the people who would not, the minds who would stay behind.

The deal is also the message: the acquisition that said the team is the asset, the purchase that said talent is the currency, the move that said the real time experts were worth the price. The deal is the pattern: the purchase that was about people, the deal that was about the minds, the future the industry will copy. The deal is the moment: the first notable engineering acquisition, the beginning of a chapter, the model that will repeat. The team, not the product, was the deal, and the deal was the lesson: the people who build the stream, the team that became the prize.

8. The Lesson

The lesson is the shift, and the shift is the stream: the web that moved from pages to feeds, from visits to updates, from publishing to real time, from waiting to watching. The lesson is the validation: the real time web that became the prize, the feed that the biggest social network wanted, the expertise that was worth the price, the team that was worth the deal. The lesson is the phrase: the acquisition that was about the team, the deal that was about the future, the story every company will study, the lesson that every platform will learn.

The lesson is also the bet: the Facebook that staked its position, the fifty million that was reported, the team that must deliver, the stream that must grow, the promise to keep, the future to build. The lesson is the August 2009 story, and the story is the lesson: the announcement on Monday, the founders from Google, the real time web that became the prize, the feed that became the bet. The Feed is the beginning, and the beginning is the year: the real time web that will be watched, the stream that will be built, the feed that will define the decade.

# The Feed: Facebook Buys FriendFeed