A Look at Rupert Murdoch's Past Internet Failures

With The Daily, Rupert Murdoch's iPad-only digital newspaper, set to launch on January 17, MediaWeek put together an infographic (PDF) that goes over all of the media mogul's past Internet ventures. Will this new project, in which Murdoch has reportedly invested $30 million, have a different outcome than, say, Fox Interactive, "which collapsed under heavy debt in 2001," according to the graphic?

With a lot of smart talent involved, we're hoping The Daily will be able to succeed, but Techdirt's Mike Masnick worries that Murdoch is too focused on platform and not focused enough on users and a sense of community. "The downfall in almost every case is about Murdoch focusing on using the Internet as mainly a broadcast medium, rather than a communications medium," Masnick wrote. "Delphi was all about community... and then News Corp. tried to turn it into a place to sell his magazines and newspapers. Fox Interactive was all about pushing content, and had little community. ... [G]iven that The Daily is so focused on platform, rather than users, it seems likely to be a repeat of the same mistake all over again."