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great moments in journalism
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Michael Arrington
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great moments in journalism
leaks
Who's going to TechTalk Menorca, the Balearic boondoggle?
Martin Varsavsky, the founder of Wi-Fi startup Fon, has concocted another excuse for Web 2.0's jet set to rack up frequent-flier miles and buy carbon offsets: It's called Menorca TechTalk, held on Varsavsky's ranch on the Mediterranean island this weekend. The website is password-protected, but Valleywag got a list of who's going. It's a curious mix of professional conference attendees, like Rapleaf's Auren Hoffman, Loïc Le Meur of Seesmic, TechCrunch's Michael Arrington, and David Sifry of Technorati, mixed in with a few people who have day jobs. There are even Googlers on the list — and when have you known those lot to leave the protective bubble of Mountain View? Oddly, Jimmy Wales did not seem to make the cut, though his New York patroness, Louise Blouin MacBain, is listed. In the comments, sort the TechTalkers into your preferred categories. More »
we read twitter so you don't have to
Michael Arrington doesn't appreciate Wired's abuse of his ethics
Wired on TechCrunch's syndication deal with the Washington Post:We've got nothing against TechCrunch, but it seems crazy-crazy to us that the Washington Post, a paper known for the sort of reporting that can take down U.S. presidents, is publishing content written by a dude who invests in the companies he writes about.Which naturally prompted the characteristically vulgar response from Michael Arrington, TechCrunch editor and bastion of indecorous surliness. Portfolio.com quotes Arrington: "Journalism is evolving."
deathwatch
The Omnidrive story you won't read on TechCrunch
Until a recent article from ReadWriteWeb declaring online file-storage and sharing service Omnidrive dead, founder and CEO Nik Cubrilovic was missing in action. The support forums for customers went unattended even as the site went down. An investor, Clay Cook, who sunk six figures into the company couldn't get a reply to his email. Also nowhere to be found? Any reporting from TechCrunch. More »
blogging for dollars
Duncan Riley quits TechCrunch
Today is Duncan Riley's last day of full-time writing for Michael Arrington's TechCrunch, we learned from Techmeme. Riley will move to his own publication, the Inquisitr. "My sincere hope is to have the opportunity to buy that blog some day and bring him right back into the fold," Arrington writes in his farewell.
Robert Scoble redesign draws Michael Arrington's ire
Robert Scoble, the man who makes boring videos about tech companies, but only the ones you don't care about, convinced Fast Company to redesign his blog, and it's now practically tasteful. But the giant ad from longtime sponsor Seagate prompted TechCrunch's Michael Arrington to throw Scoble's argument against ads on blogs back at him. [Scobleizer]
IBM researcher plugs house into Twitter for energy usage updates
It's only a matter of time before the inanimate home of inventor Andy Stanford-Clark somehow pisses off TechCrunch publisher Michael Arrington and feels the wrath of "@andy_house blocked." [Earth2Tech]
The first step is admitting you have a problem
"I now need Twitter more than Twitter needs me." — TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington, who has sent 572 Twitter messages so far in April, taking a rare moment for personal reflection. Michael, there's help for Internet-application addiction. [TechCrunch]
"I now need Twitter more than Twitter needs me." — TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington, who has sent 572 Twitter messages so far in April, taking a rare moment for personal reflection. Michael, there's help for Internet-application addiction. [TechCrunch]
silicon valley users guide
Bow before King Michael: Arrington explains to the peasants how to get on TechCrunch
TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington presents "tactical-level advice on getting press for your startup" in this full-length video from Omnisio of his Stanford speech Saturday. His level of candor (or "transparency" in Valleyspeak) surprised even me. He openly admits to playing quid pro quo with his sources — you supply the exclusives, he provides the fawning coverage to show investors. Journalists might sniff at Arrington's ethical judgment, but it works for him — as long as startups play by his rules. All this reminds me of Europe's last great monarch. More »
startup school
Michael Arrington shows messy side at Stanford
His unkempt email inbox has won Michael Arrington a sympathetic writeup in the New York Times. An audience at today's Startup School at Stanford was less impressed by the TechCrunch editor's obvious disorganization. He bragged onstage about working on his presentation while Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos spoke, and swore when his computer froze. He then got angry as a student helped him restart his Mac, displaying a desktop in disarray. (Check it out, captured on Flickr: Among other things, you'll learn that Arrington is a TurboTax user.) An eyewitness report of the debacle: More »
too insidery
TechCrunch editor flubs story but "can't go back on it now"
I'm on IM with Jordan Golson, and he's on the phone with TechCrunch editor Mike Arrington. You see, Valleywag sort of, um, fired Jordan this morning, and Mike got a bogus version of the story claiming it was all because of one post Jordan did criticizing his management. Jordan wants Mike to correct the article, saying that's not what happened at all — he was dismissed over much bigger issues. To my profound disappointment, Arrington just replied to him, "I can't go back on it now that I've written it." Sure enough, Arrington's updates to the post claim Jordan's explanations are "confusing" and full of "contradictions," rather than just admitting TechCrunch got told the story wrong, which seems easier. Now you know why Mike always insists that you not call him a journalist.
exits
Ex-Business 2.0 editor leaves Fortune for Time
Josh Quittner, former editor of the defunct Business 2.0, has extricated himself from his unhappy stay at Fortune by returning to Time, where he previously worked. Tellingly, Time editor Rick Stengel refers to him as a "writer" for Fortune, though he had the ostensible title of executive editor. Stengel's memo is included below. Quittner's new gig is his old gig, covering consumer technology, which takes him back roughly 13 years in the progress of his career. Funny, because we'd heard that Quittner had held serious talks with Michael Arrington about joining TechCrunch, around the same time he wrote a laudatory column about the tech blogger. All that puffery, and no job in exchange? A shame. More »
TechCrunch explained in a sports metaphor
If TechCrunch were a football blog, every player in the scouting combine would be the next Tom Brady.
Valleywag emeritus offers unsolicited advice for Michael Arrington
Newly softhearted Gawker Media head Nick Denton offers some kindly advice for TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington: "@Michael Arrington: Hey, everybody has been expecting the grand roll-up ever since you hired Heather. I don't see it happening. Certainly don't see it sticking. And, without a roll-up, you have a niche Valley site with some 3% of the traffic of Gawker or Weblogs Inc. Good luck with that when the tech bubble bursts!"
Newly softhearted Gawker Media head Nick Denton offers some kindly advice for TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington: "@Michael Arrington: Hey, everybody has been expecting the grand roll-up ever since you hired Heather. I don't see it happening. Certainly don't see it sticking. And, without a roll-up, you have a niche Valley site with some 3% of the traffic of Gawker or Weblogs Inc. Good luck with that when the tech bubble bursts!"
silicon valley users guide
How to be a public figure the Hollywood way
Mark Zuckerberg dodged a bullet. His mug got featured on TMZ next to a picture of his secret mistress, and luckily she happened to be his actual girlfriend. Michael Arrington kicks Valleywag out of a party, giving our party report far more attention than it probably deserved. And Robert Scoble strikes a Roman Polanski-esque pose with an underage tech-starlet in his lap. As a captain of online industry, a hack covering the beat and a publicity-hungry B-lister, all three share one thing in common — they want the good stuff that comes with being public figures (free publicity, adoring fans, access to wealth) without the bad (salacious press, limited privacy and expensive hangers-on). The world, of course, doesn't work that way. So here's eight tips from the entertainment industry that might help them navigate the nascent perils of Internet fame. More »
5:00 PM on Mon Apr 14 2008
By Jackson West
1,266 views,
4 comments
Latest by raincoaster: @Scobleizer: Owen's paid well to keep those offline. more »
caption contest
"Come back, Mr. Arrington -- I swear I'm not going to pitch you a startup"
Valleywag's Jackson West attempts, unsuccessfully, to thank TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington for throwing a party in Los Angeles. Can you improve the headline? Try your best in the comments. (Photo by Bonny Pierzina, who was later thrown out of the party)
Michael Arrington, Pete Cashmore puff up egos, traffic
At last night's PopSugar-TechCrunch party, I hadn't hoped to become part of the story, but LA Times reporter David Sarno suggested Arrington's 86ing of my date inspired Mashable's Pete Cashmore to invent a story about his own ouster. I don't know whether there's anything to Sarno's theory. But I do know this: Cashmore and Arrington are full of it if they think either of their operations are "top 10 blogs." (Photo by Robert Scoble)
party report
