Marissa Mayer buys failed startups because it's the best way for Yahoo to hire good developers

Yahoo bought Rockmelt today, a startup that debuted with a wave of media fanfare touting it as the company that would reinvent the browser for the age of the social web. It didn't catch on, Rockmelt pivoted, and eventually the company faded into obscurity, at which point Marissa Mayer swooped in to purchase it, as she has with dozens of ailing young tech companies since she became CEO at Yahoo. Mayer had taken a lot of flack in the press for purchasing startups with little traction, many if whom...