Apparently Rupert Murdoch doesn't tweet. When it comes to micro-blogging service Twitter Inc., News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWSA) CEO Rupert Murdoch isn't among those who "get it." Asked at Allen & Co.'s annual Sun Valley, Idaho, shin-ding for media moguls if he was going to buy the revenueless Web phenomenon,
Murdoch answered with a "No," according to Reuters,
warning, "Be careful of investing here."
The follow-up question about selling MySpace elicited an even more adamant "Hell no," but just the fact that he was asked if he wanted to sell the company shows how much the ups-and-downs of MySpace have given Murdoch his fill of the wonderful world of Web 2.0. After the headache of MySpace, one really can't blame him for wanting to steer clear of another Internet bet that's growing like wildfire but that has no clear revenue model -- and warning others to do the same.
Still Murdoch doesn't have all that much to complain about when it comes to MySpace. He struck gold quickly from the $580 million acquisition of MySpace when Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) agreed to pony up $900 million to provide search for the site, before the social network's eclipse by Facebook Inc. left a bad taste in his mouth for finicky Web applications. Making all your money back with another $300 million-plus to boot in only a matter of months is something that any buyer of Twitter might quickly settle for. -
George White
