Why Google Isn't Spending $200 Million On Digg - Tech Weblogs

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Digg is truly the most useless of the big Web 2.0 sites. It won't make you money and it can't make money. Its early investors and founder will make money, and if they pull off a sale, management and the founders will have done their job.

Digg has tried to Digg their acquisition' for almost two years. They have Mike Arrington as their shill. He writes a post at noon when he wakes up and timestamps' it 4:30 AM so it looks like he never sleeps and he's breaking news. Yawn. The whole strategy is not horrible as the media companies don't budge until they hear that someone else has shown interest. If it does not work the first few times though, you end up stale.

The latest rumor started by Mike is Google. That would imply that Google (GOOG) needs traffic from the lunatic fringe. They don't.

So far, the media companies have not liked what they see, be it price and/or opportunity. No surprise to me.

If they are truly up for sale and they have not gotten a deal done during this web 2.0 binge, they are on their way to smaller founder returns. Not horrible at all, and I think it's smart for Kevin Rose to be trying everything he can do.

He, of course, knows more than anybody how little influence his site really has for everyone but him.

Phoenix-based venture capitalist and entrepreneur Howard Lindzon has run a hedge fund for 11 years and is a partner in Biltmore Ventures. Last summer, he sold Wallstrip to CBS. He blogs at howardlindzon.com, where this was originally posted.

See Also:
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Digg's New Recommendation Tool A Big Help Already