When you turn to venture capital, you dance with the devil, or so the founders of PlanetOut have learned. PlanetOut sounds like it could be a Web site for skiers or hikers, but it's not. PlanetOut danced with the devil and it seems to be getting burned. We want to make it an easy sell. Huggett insists that the content of the site won't change.
PlanetOut employees tell a different story.
They say the site's content is being toned down to the point of being insipid. The lively attitude that gave PlanetOut its edge is evaporating. Bisexual coverage is being minimized and transsexual coverage and discussion is being eliminated. While it's easy to chide Huggett and Taylor for an expeditious retreat, PlanetOut is hardly the first online community to soft-shoe its mission in the name of commercial success. Women's Wire , which started its life as a bulletin board system that was refreshingly honest about real live for women, lost cofounder Nancy Rhine shortly after an infusion of venture capital.