A few more thoughts about Live Journal’s merger with Six Apart.
Dave Winer thinks that the Six Apart merger is about thier IPO. Interesting, if so that would be a sign that the VC behind Six Apart want to exit fast – that the market isn’t predictable enough to hold onto their options and that they would rather liquidate them. An IPO is an exit strategy, not a means to raise capital; lots of alternative ways exist of raising capital that aren’t as painful.
It occurs to me that Blogger and Six Apart now have the power to set standards, adgenda, etc. in this market, if they work together. That could be a very constructive collaboration if they understood the power it would give them. I note that Blogger, Six Apart, and Live Journal all support atom; right?
Of course it’s also thru that either of them as the power of FUD a this point too. It would be a curious thing to watch – FUD in the blogging industry, but it don’t doubt it could be done. Why do it is another matter; but an IPO could be a strong temptation.