Don't go the way of Jaiku: JUST SAY NO

One of the things that really annoys me is the way so many of the start-ups are willing to sell out as soon as one of the big three comes knocking on the door with an open cheque book. The latest acquisition is Jaiku by Google. It seems as though the aim for start-ups these days is not to be successful and take the web by storm, but rather be successful, attract the attention of one of the big three, and then sell out at the first opportunity.

Whilst it currently says that services will continue running the way they always have, the truth is that they won't; they never do. Six months down the line, if not before, Jaiku users will be asked to start using a Google user name (as happened with blogger previously), and you will need a Google email account, and any password reminders or update information will be sent to your Gmail account, and slowly your whole world will turn Google.