The Slowing Hype Over ‘SoLoMo’
“SoLoMo,” the abbreviated name for “social, local and mobile,” has always sounded a lot like “slow mo.” Well, as we head into 2013, slow motion might be exactly how to describe SoLoMo, according to a Wall Street Journal article. With Facebook, Zynga and Groupon seeing their IPOs flounder, the sheen on SoLoMo is a thing of the past. “For many of the still-private Web startups that rode the wave up, that now means grappling with the downside of the cycle.” The article looks at the journeys of Viddy (mobile), LivingSocial (local) and Kabam (social) to illustrate the struggles of the sector. LivingSocial, for example, has gone from raising about $580 million in funding in 2011 and notching a valuation of $6 billion, to seeing its book value drop to $324 million and hopes of an IPO put aside. The company expects its true trajectory to be seen in the next couple years. (WSJ.com)
