The purchase of MySpace by News Corp for $580M was a watershed moment: old media realized the game was changing. But they still do not realize how fundamentally, and they do not understand technology.
Rupert Murdoch is an old man. In his mind he sells newspapers; whether Faux News or the Wall Street Journal or Prison Break, it's the same centrally produced flat surface that shows stock quotes, Ed Anger look- and sound-alikes, and pictures of warm jigglies that he has provided to loyal punters for years. So now the idiots produce it for themselves? Great, Rupe and his noxious progeny can just sit back and rake it in.
Wrong. First off, the trendsetting liberal élite fears and loathes Murdoch and his company. Second, others understand deeply that it is not about The Simpsons or American Idol, it is about a platform. Facebook understands this, which is why they're seeding $10M in development on their platform. No equity stake required.
So why should hardworking ramen-suckers build an environment to build an empire for News Corp? I haven't seen a reason yet. Facebook may not be Mother Teresa either, but they're at least giving ten million more reasons to build on their platform.
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