Citing examples isn't necessarily rude. Present it like impartial analysis. That helps the audience actually learn something from the article.
Yeah it would be nice for the article to compare and contrast, say, Instagram and Color. The author could probably cite Color for an example supporting his argument. However Instagram is a notable counter-example that needs to be addressed.
I'm not sure Instagram is a counter-example. They didn't fail, but they never made any revenue either. They just raised a lot of funding and sold the company to Facebook. That's winning the startup lottery, not building a sustainable business.