Forget about seeing Facebook
Talk about a fall from grace. At one point, Digg was attracting 17 million monthly visitors and had Microsoft
Venture capitalists also loved Digg. All told, the company raised $45 million in equity financing from the likes of Greylock Partners, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen, the Journal reports. Betaworks won't be giving any of them much of a return.
MySpace offers a similarly sad tale. After several years of leading the way on social media, the network, which gained popularity as a place for musicians to market their work, last June sold for $35 million to a group that included performer Justin Timberlake.
But don't weep for either Digg or MySpace. Founders of both companies have done well enough. News Corp.
Nevertheless, the point remains. Investing in innovators such as Digg and MySpace is dangerous, because what looks like a sure thing -- (cough) Research In Motion (cough) -- could be irrelevant within a few years.
Digging up a better tech investing strategy
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