Ripping on the Valley Boys story, part 1: the cover
Okay, BusinessWeek's cover story on Digg founder Kevin Rose was ludicrous — a throwback to the giddy 90s, with wild numbers being thrown about and startuppers treated as flyboys.
In my haste to finish the workday, I only cursorily covered this yesterday. But now, in the harsh light of several more critical stories, let's give that cover story the beating it deserves.
First off, the cover's a disaster. There are three kinds of cover portraits: The artistic, the serious, and the goofy. Kevin Rose dressed like a sixth-grader and giving two thumbs up? That goes beyond "goofy" into "mildly insulting."
The 29-year-old dot-commer isn't the only one being insulted. Readers' intelligence takes a blow when BusinessWeek claims Rose made $60 million from Digg. Just six months ago, Kevin was saying "I wish" about Yahoo's rumored $40-million buyout of Digg. BusinessWeek even admits inside that Digg only pulls $3 million a year in revenues.
Now, $3 million is a fantastic income for a two-year-old company with 15 employees. And sure, that number will probably rise. But the $60 million figure, based on an arbitrary Digg valuation of $200 million, is an obvious grab for attention — BusinessWeek couldn't be bothered to write "How Kevin Rose may have made 40% of a $40 million deal."
Coming up: Why, BusinessWeek, why? Also: The best of the worst from inside the article.
