J
Joseph Perla
jperla.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2008
Joseph Perla is a programmer and startup founder who writes about Facebook, web development, startups, and Bitcoin.
What HN saysHN commenters mostly link his 2010 'Facebook is a Ponzi Scheme' post when discussing fake accounts and ad value.
19HN people shared it
12linked it in comments
38stories submitted
660story points
3 months agolast shared
2008people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1Facebook is a Ponzi Scheme9 people · 185 points · first shared 2010 · 105 comments on HN
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- 14Your startup is unviral1 people · 4 points · first shared 2011 · discussion on HN
- 15Ruby is a Ghetto1 people · 4 points · first shared 2011 · discussion on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
loceng · 2012-05-23
It's not worth $108 billion, it never was - never will be.
This was a scam. A Ponzi Pyramid Scheme. A cash-grab.
http://www.jperla.com/blog/post/facebook-is-a-ponzi-scheme
ljlolel · 2010-09-30
That's funny you say that. I definitely have been working a lot on that specifically over the last few years.
I'm actually a hard-core hacker. I'm running technology at Stickybits. I wrote my own Python web framework, and released (what I think is) the best templating framework in any language. (weby templates: http://www.jperla.com/blog/post/weby-templates-are-easier-faster-and-m…
seltzered_ · 2019-07-23
Also, back in 2010 Joseph Perla wrote a similarly titled article, but less targeted around fake accounts and more around the supply of advertisers trying ads when fb was growing (was a couple years before its IPO):
http://www.jperla.com/blog/post/facebook-is-a-ponzi-scheme
(discussions: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1293119, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2116062 )
https://hn.algolia.com/?query=facebook%20ponzi&sort=byPopularity&a…
at-fates-hands · 2016-11-16
>> I said it was marketing bullshit and that we should focus on conversion rates.
I always say the same thing when people are buying FB ads. Doesn't matter how people you reach, how people are you converting?
Reminds me of an article that came out in 2010 comparing their add platform to a Ponzi scheme:
http://www.jperla.com/blog/post/facebook-is-a-ponzi-scheme
It also references PG's rant about how Yahoo! was doing the same thing in his 2010 article:
http://www.paulgraham.com/yahoo.html
qohen · 2012-05-18
> One, you presume that advertisers are incredibly naive and don't measure returns.
What if there were enough naive newbies to keep things afloat even in the face of advertisers who became disillusioned?
http://www.jperla.com/blog/post/facebook-is-a-ponzi-scheme
(via: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanholiday/2012/05/17/why-i-lost-my-faith… )
ColinHayhurst · 2012-03-27
http://www.reddit.com/r/startups/comments/k0xm5/practical_advice_for_g…
http://www.giftrocket.com/blog/yc-application-checklist
http://www.quora.com/How-should-I-fill-the-application-form-for-Y-Comb…
http://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-advice-for-a-startup-applying-to…
http://www.jperla.com/blog/post/ycombinator-application-guide
and, of course:
http://ycombinator.com/howtoapply.html
mrspandex · 2011-09-26
Looks like it. Original: http://www.jperla.com/blog/post/how-to-launch-in-a-month-scale-to-a-mi…
metageek · 2011-01-18
Maybe the long tail really does drop off that fast. According to the "Facebook is a Ponzi scheme" article ljlolel posted [1], most Facebook advertisers experiment for a while, then give up; that would make for a long tail and a steep curve.
[1] http://www.jperla.com/blog/post/facebook-is-a-ponzi-scheme
seltzered · 2010-10-31
jperla made a blog post about this a few months ago: http://www.jperla.com/blog/post/facebook-is-a-ponzi-scheme
His assertion's that it isn't investment making it a ponzi scheme, it's their customers who purchase advertising on facebook and see minimal returns.
keithbaumwald · 2010-10-31
Same question from a different angle in a blog post from back in August - http://www.jperla.com/blog/post/facebook-is-a-ponzi-scheme
hasenj · 2010-10-31
Thanks! That's a very well thought out argument :)
The idea that facebook knows alot about me is somewhat scary :/
The problem I see is, people don't come on facebook to find stuff, they come to checkout what their friends are doing.
According to this link http://www.jperla.com/blog/post/facebook-is-a-ponzi-scheme, the ad revenue is coming from people "experimenting" with FB Ads. Soon they'll all realize that it doesn't work, and stop.
RiderOfGiraffes · 2010-08-15