Prompt's TechBlog

Actor Will Smith recently invested an undisclosed sum into PluggedIn, a new start-up. As the The Telegraph reports, Smith is just one of many super-celebs who are ploughing their cash into online start-ups. Comedian Will Ferrell is another. Ferrell launched a comedy video site, FunnyorDie.com in 2007, and is now pumping money into a visual search site, Searchme.com (still in beta, but looking quite impressive).

And the list goes on. CSI: Miami thespian David Caruso is CEO of software start-up Lexicon Digital Communications. Ashton Kutcher is the creative director of an internet telephony company.

The article reveals that popular artists and musicians are getting in on the trend too. Rap superstar Nelly has a stake in a site called MusicNation, and MC Hammer has established Dancejam.com, a video site with a strong focus on dance.


So what's the attraction of investing in online companies? For some it's gambling. Peter Gabriel, of Genesis fame, has invested over £3 million into online businesses, and claims he has just about broken even. For others it is a vanity exercise. MC Hammer, has recently stated that his interest in the internet is "purely ego-driven."

Perhaps it's also about getting extra influence. In a recent BT-commissioned report, nearly one in three Britons believed that celebrities who have embraced technology, like Lily Allen or Ricky Gervais, have become more powerful as a result.

Whatever the reason, investing is a risk, and I doubt making money is a contributing factor. Apart from Gabriel's reasonable success, most online start-ups fail to generate any significant profits.