It wasn't uncommon to see an e-commerce startup raise an eight figure round of funding early on in its lifecycle.

I criticized Arrington for what I saw as an unnecessary use of his "podium" to disparage Price when he had no legitimate reason to do so.

Founded in 1999, it survived Bubble 1.0, turned a profit in 2002 and was acquired by Monster in 2004 for a combination of cash, stock and earn-outs.

It's a simple question. But it is difficult for many entrepreneurs to answer realistically, because there's a natural tendency on their part to think their companies do more and have more potential than is actually true.

1. Put $20m into a company that you're valuing at $75m and has no proven mainstream appeal, scalability problems or business model?
   
2. Invest $25m at a $200m valuation in a company that has already raised $12.5m, has reportedly generated about $1m in revenues since its launch in 2005 and was unable to develop acquisition interest at $250m?
   
3. Give $50m and a $500m valuation to a profitless company that does $10-12m in annual revenues and whose CEO has said, "We’re like a teen in our clock cycle. Now, we have to figure out how do you get a job and work in the real world"?

His blog, Silicon Alley Insider, or SAI, is an increasingly influential force in the tech blogosphere and has given Blodget the ability to establish a front row seat for Bubble 2.0.

But there's an inconvenient truth that proponents of these sites tend to ignore - the average person just doesn't have the ability to participate fully in social media.

Bebo may have found its sucker in AOL, but for other players, finding a company that wants to buy the Brooklyn Bridge is harder than many may have anticipated.

The recently-announced MySpace Music joint venture between MySpace, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group is the latest example.

The landscape of Search is changing and I recently noticed three vertical search applications, which may end up threatening Google’s position.

But it seems the broadcaster is not just keen to acquire new digital content – it also wants to invest in companies that support it.

According to commissioning editor Matt Locke, it is one of a number of firms that has just ploughed “a six figure sum” into School of Everything, a UK-based start-up that aims to encourage informal learning via the web.

The site was launched in France in 2006 and has since expanded around Europe, with sites in Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland and other countries reaching a combined audience of over 9m users a month.

We caught up with Twenga CEO Bastion Duclaux to talk about its growth, as well as what makes his site different from the rest...

GCap acquired its stake for a fee of £450,000, with a further £150,000 to be paid if the business meets performance targets.