Something like Digg will clearly be where a lot of people get their news. And given the network effects, it was smart to focus initially on growth. The result

Something like Digg will clearly be where a lot of people get their news. And given the network effects, it was smart to focus initially on growth. The result is that at this stage they have a site that's big and unprofitable. Bad luck for them this stage coincides with a huge recession; but few saw that coming. Except for raising/spending too much, they seem to me to have followed roughly the optimal path. You cannot do better than that. Optimal isn't always great, but it is optimal.