Facebook face-off: too little, too late

It's painful seeing a giant thrash in its sleep. Microsoft has been fitful for years, and it's obvious from its latest decision that it still can't agree internally what to do.

$240m, fair enough. That amount of cash might be considered a 'commitment'. But for just 1.5% of Facebook, valuing the social-networking site at $15bn? Too little, too late. As Murdoch demonstrated with MySpace - valued at less than a tenth of that last year, and practically nothing today - making a move on the wrong piece of ass doesn't get any better even when it's 3am and you're desperate.

Web 2.0 is a phenom not connected to any one company, and if you're paying a fortune for a tiny sliver of startup, you don't look smart. You just look scared.