We’re not here to bash the dastardly deeds of Ted past, at least not completely.  Congratulations Ted, you’re officially our first test subject here on StartupFAIL.  Email me your address and I’ll send you the official t-shirt for free.

What’s a Flip and why Press it?

Here’s what PressFlip claims to be:

Think of pressflip as an internet search that keeps searching and learns what you like. Search for a topic that interests you, then save it. pressflip will show you new articles that match your search as time goes on. As you use pressflip, it learns more about what you like and will show you more interesting results.

Basically, PressFlip aggregates RSS feeds from many popular blogs and allows you to search through them, the results of which are filtered according to your taste.  The idea seemed doomed from the start - why would someone search for something, filter the results by pressing ‘flip’ and come back later for more relevant?  Now ask yourself that same question when other blog search engines are providing better results for a lot less work from your end.  I think Michael Arrington did an excellent job of pointing out it’s weaknesses 3 months ago.  You’d think that they would take the constructive criticism and fix their site so it was actually usable, right?  WRONG!  These champs decided it was cooler to take their Uncov antics into the workplace and fuck things up there.

Today, Ted announced that he’s done with PressFlip for family reasons and because he’s tired of the fight.  I’m calling bullshit - why don’t you tell us what really went wrong?  Why go from a product that someone could potentially be proud of, something that you hyped up so much to return to a blog that hates on the hard work of others?  I think you fucked up somewhere along the line, like using up your supposed $110k on booze and hateorade.  Or maybe it was a repercussion from someone you talked down that finally ended it?  Arrington again does a good job ofpointing out the failure.  Sorry if I’m getting off-topic, but I just keep getting distracted by the blindingly massive irony.

What did we learn today, kids?

First and foremost, Karma is merciless.  As tom_rath over at HackerNews pointed out:

Reminds me of the maxim: Be nice to people on the way up, because they’re the same ones you’re going to meet on the way back down again.

You should’ve seen this coming.  You can’t talk down to that many people and expect to walk away scotch free when you trip yourself.  You should respect the people who will one day end up being your peers and learn to take some criticism (instead of claiming others have “personal vendettas” against you).

Take a chill pill Ted, you didn’t make the cut this time around and it’s ok.  Maybe next time, our failures only make us stronger right?  Just don’t go down that same road again with Uncov, else you’ll end up feeling a lot worse in the future and will get even less sympathy.  Best of luck with the family and don’t forget our free t-shirt offer still stands.