SOCIAL NETWORKING IS EASY, RIGHT?
MySpace
It may still be running but it would take a particularly deluded kind of optimist to claim it has been anything but a disaster for News Corp, which bought it do $580m in 2005. This is how not to do it.
Google Buzz
It was heralded as the next generation of social networking but Google’s foray into the market fizzled out and the brand was retired not long after its launch. It has been superceded by Google+, which has also failed to set the web on fire.
Yahoo Buzz
Remember when Yahoo used to be a player? It even had its own social network, with the same name as Google’s, before Google used it. Unfortunately, like everything else Yahoo has done since the year 2000, it flopped.
Sprouter
It was billed as a Twitter-style site for entrepreneurs but Sprouter was forced to close the service after failing to work out a way to make money from it. It has now been restyled as a Q&A service for businesses.