What happened here? Two months ago I met Scott Sassa in our offices when he was all gaga over Uber.com‘s chances. In those two months, it turns out, the investors Discovery (NSDQ: DISAB) Communications (NSDQ: DISCA) and previous ones UMG and others decided to pull out, it seems, and his web publishing and social networking firm is closing down on Sept. 29, according to a notice posted on the site: “The crisis in the economy has claimed Uber as its latest victim. Our investors have decided to stop supporting Uber and we have closed the doors. We would like to thank them as well, it is no fault of their that this happened…We tried to build a site that let people of every skill level, every style, and every generation express themselves and meet fellow individuals.” Blaming the economy sounds like sour grapes here, if you ask me. While investors pulling out in a depressed economy is not uncommon, the fact is that the service was as me-too as any online social media/publishing service can ever be. That coupled with a tiny audience and no differentiated way to scale revenues did it in.

• Discovery Invests in Sassa’s Web Publishing Firm Uber.com; UMG Other Investor