Ask HN:DippinDots is going bankrupt can someone buy their 4.5 MIL Facebook fans?

6 points by joeteplow 14 years ago | 7 comments

I saw the link on HN that Dippin Dots was going bankrupt and I clicked to see their Facebook page. They have 4.5 million followers and it would be a shame for a company that put so much effort into building their social media presence like that to have it deleted without some profit.

Is their a way for a company in the same market like Ben and Jerry's or Hagen Daz's to purchase the account. I'm assuming this violates some of Facebooks guidelines but it thought it would be interesting..

We may see companies liquidating their social media accounts as they do other commodities and assets.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-04/dippin-dots-flash-frozen-ice-cream-maker-seeks-bankruptcy-protection.html

cd34 14 years ago |

Chapter 11 is reorganization which doesn't mean the company is disappearing.

Chapter 7 and 13 are the ones where the company is liquidated and ceases to function.

IF they are not able to use their cash as collateral for the loan from Regions Bank, then, they will amend their filing and at that point, perhaps the fanpage would be counted as an asset - at which point creditors would be first in line to obtain the asset.

pavel_lishin 14 years ago | |

> perhaps the fanpage would be counted as an asset

But it's not something they own, right? If anyone owns it, it's Facebook.

cd34 14 years ago | | |

I think it would be a pretty good test of the value of social media. If anything, they could create a small spinoff that manages their social presence, which could be converted which may not violate any T&C that Facebook has.

However, it could be counted as goodwill which is not a tangible asset. There is intrinsic value in it, but, you'd have to hope Dippin Dots knows that, and a creditor also places a value on it.

Otherwise, as the original poster suggested, it might just vanish.

rhizome 14 years ago |

What makes you think that 4.5MM fans want to hear about anything else? They signed up for DD, not actual ice cream. Sure, you might think you can pivot them into regular ice cream (which is not actually the 'same market' as DD), but that was obviously not the user's expectation in signing up.

coryl 14 years ago |

On a side note, Dippin Dots is cool about the first time you try it. After that its kinda "meh". I bought some last month (probably years since I last had it) and I was asking myself "why the hell did I get this again?".

JoeCortopassi 14 years ago | |

I respectfully disagree. Dippin Dots has always been happiness in a cup for me. Hearing that they are going bankrupt truly marks a sad day for me :-(

poppysan 14 years ago | |

Tastes like freezer-burnt ice cream to me.