Three Reasons To Use Disqus
First, I'd like to be perfectly clear that our firm, Union Square Ventures, is an investor in Disqus. So I am clearly biased about what I am about to say. Second, I'd like to point out that the reason we made the investment is largely based on my experience …
Context & Ripple Effects
Disqus entered blog commenting in 2007 against Js-Kit, Intense Debate, and SezWho. Union Square Ventures’ endorsement comes with an explicit disclosure that it is an investor, so the post is advocacy from a backer rather than arm’s-length customer validation.
A same-day favorable write-up from mathewingram.com/work shows the product discussion travelled beyond the investor’s own blog, though it does not establish independent market adoption.
First-order effects
- Disqus gains a public endorsement from Union Square Ventures that can bolster its credibility with blog publishers evaluating hosted commenting systems.
- Competing commenting providers face a better-funded rival whose investor is actively promoting its product case.
Second-order effects
- Blog publishers comparing Disqus with Js-Kit, Intense Debate, and SezWho gain another visible signal to weigh, while needing to discount the investor’s stated financial interest.
- Union Square Ventures’ disclosure makes independence of product recommendations a salient issue for readers and prospective customers.
Third-order effects
- If investors increasingly use their publishing platforms to advocate for portfolio products, startup distribution can depend more on investor audiences alongside product performance.
- Hosted commenting is becoming a distinct competitive layer around blogs, with providers competing for publisher adoption rather than merely supplying on-site software.
The trend: Blog infrastructure is shifting toward specialized hosted services whose adoption is shaped by product competition and influential distribution channels.