Gawker
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Tech Journo Catfight!
Gadget Nerds Can't Discuss Ethics Without Devolving into Schoolyard Taunts
Tech commentator Leo LaPorte and TechCrunch's Michael Arrington were doing yesterday's Gillmor Gang show when Arrington provoked LaPorte over free-product disclosures. LaPorte freaked out and shut down the show, but not before spewing colorful invective at Arrington first. More »
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By Foster KamerComment by Michael Arrington: Seriously, the whole thing was a big misunderstanding. I thought we were talking about brie. 1 Responses | Other threads
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twitterati
The Twitterati Attract Another Stalker
Looks like we have some competition for tracking the media elite's bleat-replete tweets! Our competitive edge: We bring you the very worst of the Twitterati. Today's targets: More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by hoot-the-mopple: bcaulfield sounds a little hst-esque. scary. would that desert be somewhere around barstow? more » | Other threads
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twitterati
The Twitterati Scrape Off a Blueprint Cleanse Stain
Feeling out of it? Then go read what media types like Amanda Congdon and Sarah Lacy are saying about themselves on Twitter. You'll feel better instantly! More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by deathbychichi: On the RSS, the placement of the horizontal rules on the twitter posts is off. It makes it look... more » | Other threads
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twitterati
Sarah Palin Lets the Twitterati Sleep in the Same Room
Twitter, the ideal medium for feigning emotion! Bonnie Fuller pretended to be shocked, Erick Schonfeld and Kara Swisher pretended to fight, and Sasha Frere-Jones pretended to function. Today's real fake tweets: More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by rustneversleeps: Bonnie is shocked that Sarah Palin is more of a douche than we thought. Considering Palin's public stance on sex... more » | Other threads
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techcrunch
Michael Arrington Wishes He Could Quit Us
TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington, left distraught after a stranger spat on him at a tech conference in Munich, promised he'd take February off. Two days in, he's having a hard time leaving the Internet. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by DaTruf: How can we miss him if he won't go away? 2 Responses | Other threads
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michael arrington
Why Internet Fame Is Worth a Warm Bucket of Spit
Fame has always had its downsides. But Internet fame, like the kind TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington has accumulated, provides all the downsides and very few advantages. Now he wants to go into hiding. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by categorically: I'm beginning to figure this stuff out. In the middle east they throw a shoe at you. In europe they spit on... 2 Responses | Other threads
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twitterati
Twitter Spits on Cold Racists
The Twitterati did not have a good day. Professional web personality Amanda Congdon hates racists, crackpot visionary Jeff Jarvis still hates the media, but TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington is hated most of all! More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by Shamoononon, Vampire Grater: Also, is it Los Angeles or Louisiana that is full of racists? 3 Responses | Other threads
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field guide
Shira Lazar, Kevin Rose's Latest Fling
Having famously "plowed through" San Francisco's eligible bachelorettes, Digg founder Kevin Rose went L.A. for his most recent paramour, Shira Lazar. Who is this Web-video wannabe with links to Dov Charney and Julia Allison? More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by LilyBartleby: She's an upgrade from his previous paramour, Roseys Palm. 9 Responses | Other threads
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online advertising
Layoffs at Federated Media Signal Blogs' Ill Health
John Battelle is the salesman for a host of indie sites, from the futuristic Boing Boing to the Web-obsessed TechCrunch to mommyblog Dooce. What does it say that his company, Federated Media, is canning workers? More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by TrilbyAuxo: I missed the former story on how he tried to misuse other blogs for a Microsoft campaign. I think what... more » | Other threads
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michael arrington
A tech blogger's quixotic war on PR
The comic spectacle of Michael Arrington, the tech industry's most overbearing, self-important blogger, taking on Silicon Valley's PR apparatus, is playing out live on the Internet. Bring your popcorn.
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By Owen ThomasComment by pepelicious: Good god, the top stories bar now shows a skeletal Steve Jobs, portly Dan Nye, bloaty Arrington, that security guy... 5 Responses | Other threads
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leaks
You too can be a Crunchies Co-Host for $25,000
"Sure the economy is kicking the crap out of us," says the website for this years Crunchies awards for Web 2.0 startups, overseen by TechCrunch founder Mike Arrington. But don't let that stop you from spending $25,000 to be an official Co-Host for the event, a posh dress-up bash to be held at San Francisco's Herbst Theater in January. Or, for $15,000, you can sponsor one of the 15 award categories. I crashed the afterparty last year and, really, it was fun. But $25K? I'm dying to find out what this year's sponsors actually end up paying. Here's the official price list: More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by valleymonger: I bet bay area's french loic lemiur will pay the 25k. and then get them back from techcrunch in the... 1 Responses | Other threads
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we read twitter so you don't have to
Twitter ad system lets you shill automatically
One reason a lot of Twitterholics love Twitter is that there are no advertisements to interrupt the first-person human communication. Now TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington has found a German startup, Be-A-Magpie, that offers to pay Twitterers to mix ads into their status updates. The service sends tweets from your account, with your name and face plus their 140-character advertiser's message. I love watching Arrington smolder over the idea, because he's right. The Internet was built by people trying to get away from this sort of thing.
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By Paul BoutinComment by sample032: And I was hoping the future of twitter would be product placement. 1 Responses | Other threads
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toogle many googlers
Google now lets TechCrunch pretend we don't exist
With a name like SearchWiki, you know it's going to be clever, yet stupid. Google has spent ten years and I don't know how many hundred million dollars refining a rocket-science algorithm for ranking Internet search results. Now, a few Google coders have whipped up a feature that lets you boost or cut the scores of individual websites from your own future searches. For example, grudge-o-matic TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington can click his own posts to the top of any Google search he performs. With one more click, he can remove Valleywag entirely from his life. That frees us to post as many photos of Big Mike's girlfriends as we want. Everybody wins! Personal note to Google engineer Amay: Next time you make a video, try to go longer than seven seconds without saying "cool."
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By Paul BoutinComment by sample032: Finally I'll be able to ignore search results from the tech support website (its name escapes me) that requires registration... 2 Responses | Other threads
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meltdowns
GOOG at 283.44, TechCrunch to throw party in Paris
Shorter version of TechCrunch: It's the "worst economic environment in our collective lifetimes. Get your ticket for the TechCrunch/LeWeb party!" If this does not make perfect sense to you, please move back to Nebraska. -
Great Moments in Anonymous Journalism
LayoffGossip just keeps getting better
I won't give up until I land automoronic rumor site LayoffGossip a hit in a major American newspaper. It's a perfect story for a lazy reporter: Web 2.0 uses Web 2.0 to document failure of Web 2.0. Three's a trend! Right now, the site's Valleywag entry says, quote, "General feeling is fearful. to be careful. Average salaries will be available next week." LayoffGossip has forced me to confess an ugly truth: TechCrunch is actually pretty good.
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By Paul BoutinComment by FrancesCadillaxing: Layoffgossip was clearly given a lot of thought and is a great example of the best in Valley entrepreneurship. ... more » | Other threads
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politics
Valley homophobes still drafting Yes on Prop 8 response ad
BoomTown reporter Kara Swisher rappelled from a skylight at Jerry Yang's secret hideout to score this draft copy of an ad, in which a bunch of tech bigwigs come out in favor of gay marriage — or at least in opposition to Proposition 8, a California state ballot initiative which would ban it. No Valley company in its right mind would be seen opposing gay marriage, so why bother? More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by Apel Mjausson: Implying that people are homophobic based on a draft of an ad is skating on very thin ice. There are... 2 Responses | Other threads
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great moments in journalism
Top 10 commenters TechCrunch is afraid of
I understand it's still Tough Times, Tough Decisions month. But a layoff at TechCrunch would have been better than a post by TechCrunch's leader criticizing the site's commenters. It's a slow news morning here, too, so I'll reblog the best entry, No. 3: More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by kimbjo: luckily i use my neighbours free wifi connection to surf valleywag. 1 Responses | Other threads
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blogging for dollars
TechCrunch heads for the deadpool
Michael Arrington is a has-been, and he knows it. When the smoke clears after the crash and burn of the money machine behind today's tech startups, there's one word no one will ever write into a business plan again: Web 2.0. For Arrington, whose TechCrunch blog was born with the mission of tracking what he called "Web 2.0" startups, that's a problem. More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by Marketing NYC: Why has this feud started between you and Mike. This is getting vicious. What on earth has he done specifically to warrant... 2 Responses | Other threads
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techcrunch
Checking In On Facebook Connect: Where Are All The Partners?
Facebook Connect, a product that ties a user’s Facebook account to other sites on the Internet, was first announced on May 9, more than five months ago. Digg was announced as a launch partner. More » -
great moments in journalism
How to have your layoff spin published verbatim
Got layoffs? Don't spend hours crafting the perfect "Hard Times, Hard Choices" blog post for your leader. Here's how to hack the media to deliver your message: More » -
meltdowns
TechCrunch takes the fun out of layoffs
The TechCrunch Layoff Tracker is a handy reference tool for checking who has or hasn't done the mandatory 20% staff reduction this month. Like CrunchBase, it's a handy resource for looking up baseball stats on Web 2.0 team owners, to predict who may or may not catch the ball this time. (I saw W over the weekend. Bear with me.) What's missing from the Layoff Tracker? More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by sggrf: i bet we see techcrunch on this list:) 1 Responses | Other threads
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great moments in journalism
Reporters sacrifice one of their own to Steve Jobs
"Blame Duncan Riley," opens a Fortune report on this week's awesome saga in which an ex-TechCrunch employee unwittingly manipulated Apple's stock price. But it's not over until we bury the bodies. Here's the 100-word recap: More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by sample032: Oh, so that's why Valleywag always puts "_____ reports" before questionable stories. more » | Other threads
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new york, minute
New York blogger worries himself sick over conflicts of interest
"If we want NYC to kick ass in the world's tech community, we have to stop favoring a few 'friends' and let everyone get time on stage." CenterNetworks founder/writer/editor Allen Stern doesn't just complain about inbreeding in New York's Web 2.0 scene, he documents it by listing the companies that presented at last night's NY Tech Meetup, and speculating on their potential conflicts of interest. Jeez, Allen, wait'll you find out I used to be on the secret MacArthur committee. Here's what we're group-thinking out here in our Valley chatroom: More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by Lawrence: It seems there's always conflicts of interests - stop bitching about it, and just accept it as the norm now more » | Other threads
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lawsuits
Attention-starved startup sues Michael Arrington for attention
Earthcomber, a Chicago startup, filed suit against Loopt, a Mountain View startup, for allegedly infringing on a patent that lets "a system and method for locating and notifying a user of a person, place or thing having attributes matching the user’s stated preferences." Yawn. To spice things up, Earthcomber today added TechCrunch, the blog of blowhard Michael Arrington, to the lawsuit. Why? Ostensibly because Earthcomber's CEO couldn't find Arrington's phone number. So much for locating users. [TechCrunch] -
blogging for dollars
Om Malik Arrington-proofs his blogs with $4.5 million funding
The founder of the GigaOm blog network isn't one of those guys who just wants to write, write, write. Om Malik, who reported on Valley VCs for Red Herring and Forbes in the '90s, is now on his second stint as a venture capitalist. His announcement this morning of a $4.5 million round of investment led by Palo Alto-based Alloy Ventures isn't aimed at readers, but at competing blog businessmen — specifically TechCrunch owner Mike Arrington. Malik's message: Kiss your dreams of owning me goodbye. More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by scoobydoo: I like Om. He is everything Arrington wants to be when he grows up. 1 Responses | Other threads
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conflicts of interest
Michael Arrington wants you to read about MySpace Music, not his love life
If you didn't believe our report that TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington is in bed with MySpace's top flack, Dani Dudeck, read the obsessive startup blogger's latest story on MySpace Music, which claims that MySpace has "streamed" 1 billion songs. Considering that most MySpace profiles are set to start playing a song, whether you like it or not, as soon as you visit them, that's not that impressive. Arrington leads his story by comparing MySpace streams to iTunes sales, and then acknowledges it's not a "fair comparison." His readers, in the comments, went much further, citing our report and questioning whether the affair with Dudeck clouded Arrington's judgment. Those comments have been — what's the word? — unpublished.
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By Owen ThomasComment by Rachel Marsden: Is his girlfriend beating him up, or does he always have 2 black eyes? 3 Responses | Other threads
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loopt
Michael Arrington offers to be your friend, if you have an iPhone
The folks at Loopt managed to garner a heaping helping of positive publicity from Michael Arrington by releasing a tool allowing readers of Arrington's TechCrunch blog to stalk each other out in the real world. And not only will it help you raise all sorts of privacy concerns among perfect strangers, Arrington himself will tell you where he is in the world at all times. So it shouldn't be hard to find him when he ditches the plebes at the next TechCrunch event for a Scotch-fueled afterparty. (Photo by Andrew Mager)
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By Jackson WestComment by wchan_sea_wat: Great! Now I'll be able to tell Mike everything. 1 Responses | Other threads
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conflicts of interest
Michael Arrington's MySpace Music review, the 100-word version
We know what TechCrunch's Michael Arrington got out of sleeping with MySpace PR executive Dani Dudeck: Screenshots of MySpace Music before the service launched. But what was Dudeck's quid to Arrington's quo? To find that, it's worth examining all the nice things Arrington has posted about her employer over the past couple of months. More »
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Comment by kimbjo: sounds fishy. i don't believe he'd be smart enough to keep his mouth shut long enough to get some nookie.... more » | Other threads
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geek love
Michael Arrington pounding his MySpace source
When TechCrunch, the blog for startup fetishists, published leaked screengrabs of MySpace's just-launched music service, Michael Arrington wrote: "We’ve been pounding our sources for screenshots of the new service for weeks without any luck." Now we know what he meant. A tipster tells us, and another source confirms, that Arrington's been dating Dani Dudeck, MySpace's VP of global communications, for months. More »
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Comment by Rachel Marsden: Also, people who use "wait for it" as a splicer should be stood up against the nearest wall and shot. 2 Responses | Other threads
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online advertising
TechCrunch advertiser AmateurMatch offers "real" sex
Nothing like cheap run-of-network ads to get the blood pumping in the morning — a tipster from Blighty spotted this ad for AmateurMatch offering "Real members, real sex" to TechCrunch readers yesterday. (Yes, I know, it could be a fake, but where's the fun in that?) By "real" I assume they mean as opposed to the cam chats you might enjoy on fellow advertiser Seesmic. Personally, I wonder how Siemens feels about all this.
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By Jackson WestComment by AllanJames: Look, I wasn't going to say anything but it looks Siemen's has leaked on the other ad. more » | Other threads
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conflicts of interest
Was TechCrunch50 rigged?
The anointing of Yammer as the winner of TechCrunch50 has raised questions about how the startup-launch conference operates. Michael Arrington, the founder of TechCrunch, has made much of the fact that he and fellow event organizer Jason Calacanis don't charge startups to present at the show, as established rival Demo does. But people who attended the show are saying behind his back that the contest was rigged in favor of a pet startup of Arrington's with ties to one of the event's sponsors. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by calleynye: The point of TC50 isn't about the $50k. It's about presenting it to a room of full VCs, press,... 3 Responses | Other threads
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craigslist
Startup seeks full-time coder to put on no-pay lockdown
There's so many reasons to run away from this as-yet-unknown Portland startup's "gigs" ad on Craigslist. The founders say their app was written "I think [in] C#." They're "so disruptive" that they've "already been approached by TechCrunch" — without a product release yet. And for the right full-time programmer, they'll give you a nice room, Wi-Fi, and food. Stock? You can find as many sheets of that as you like in the bathroom. "No drugs or alcoholics!" Good god, how else are you supposed to blow off this sweatshop steam? The full ad continues: More » -
party report
Loïc Le Meur, Segway instructor
Please tell me someone has pictures of Seesmic founder Loïc Le Meur giving small-time technology investor Michael Arrington Segway riding lessons outside 330 Ritch for the TechCrunch50 conference's closing party. For now, I'll have to settle for Siqi Chen, left, and Alex Le, right, the guys behind Facebook widget Friends For Sale, at the Plista party at Fluid. Where's the afterparty? It's not at the W or the Four Seasons. Maybe Mahalo chief Jason Calacanis is drinking responsibly tonight and has turned in early, but I'm pretty sure Arrington is up drinking scotch somewhere.
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By Jackson WestComment by michaellamb: the thought of seeing that tub of lard teetering around on a weird looking scooter is enough to make me... more » | Other threads
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techcrunch
Michael Arrington didn't even make Vanity Fair's kiddie-table list
This weekend's San Jose Mercury News profile of TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington, so obsequiously flattering that some wondered whether the writer was auditioning for a job at the tech blog, included an inadvertent slam. Evidence of Arrington's importance: According to TechCrunch marketing VP Sarah Ross, Arrington was considered for Vanity Fair's "New Establishment" power list, but didn't make the final cut. So he's sort of famous, right? Just one problem with that theory. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by AnonymousRealist: Does anyone with half a brain think Arrington belongs in *any* issue of Vanity Fair? more » | Other threads
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shira lazar
Demo vs. TechCrunch beef has entrepreneurs chewing softly
It's the echo chamber's busiest week of the year. Chris Shipley kicked off the Demo startup conference on Sunday in San Diego. Michael Arrington and Jason Calacanis have amassed an army forTechCrunch20TechCrunch40TechCrunch50. We're curious: Which one are you going to, and why? Tell us in the comments. One prominent tech blogger told Valleywag he's splitting his time between the two shows because he doesn't want to offend either Shipley or Arrington. More »
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Comment by Rachel Marsden: Calacanine (that's 1 dude and 2 dogs, technically) is one of my favourite people EVAR. I have no idea how... 1 Responses | Other threads
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party report
Michael Arrington drinks Valleywag's milkshake at TechCrunch meetup
Jason Calacanis, the Mahalo CEO and email list administrator, and Michael Arrington, editor of TechCrunch and hero to hopeless website creators, held a meetup in Menlo Park last night for finalists in their TechCrunch50 startup beauty contest at the British Bankers Club. Our spy infiltrated the proceedings — and served Arrington a milkshake. "He didn't seem too happy about it," reports our informant. More photos from the event — including a surprise appearance from CNET TV star and former TechCrunch writer Natali Del Conte, who came after the proceedings were over for a brief tête-à-tête with Arrington. More » -
blogging for dollars
TechCrunch drops blog format for newspapery look
TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington has said that he wants to displace CNET as the tech industry's top news site. His redesigned home page suggests that TechCrunch won't so much defeat CNET as become CNET. Arrington has replaced the Boing Boingy full-posts-in-reverse-order blog format on TC's home page with much more of a news-site layout. There's a top story with a custom-written "deck," to use newsroom jargon, meant to get you to click through to the whole article. It's similar to the format used by most newspaper sites. Here's a demo of the click-through trick: More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by Paul Boutin: @Internetguy2008: I just don't take to RSS readers. I don't know why. I set them up and then... 1 Responses | Other threads
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savvyauntie
Getting rich as a mommyblogger without the messy mommy part
Add mommyblogging to the long list of maternal entitlements. It's the old story of exploiting your childbearing for commercial gain, this time online! Ah, but even ladybloggers without kids can get a piece of the mommyblogger ad budget. According to the Washington Post, Melanie Notkin's SavvyAuntie.com had advertisers and "a well-known venture capitalist" after her from day one, interested in cashing in with her on on the "parenting site for nonparents." We're reminded of PlanetOut's fundraising days, when venture capitalists told the gay and lesbian site's founders that they should refocus the site to appeal to gays and their hip straight friends. Notkin has a point, though: If you're going to buy your best girlfriend's brood a Barack Obama onesie, shouldn't you be allowed to blog about it, add affiliate e-commerce links, and run ads on the page, too? More »
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Comment by raincoaster: "a fashion and beauty magazine but with tremendous depth" Hilarious! You don't have to look that far to find a non-mommy... more » | Other threads
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clips
Shatner to Arrington: "What are you doing?"
For $149, you too can go to LiveAutographs.com and get a personalized video and autograph from William Shatner, Carmen Electra, Hulk Hogan, Ted Nugent, about half the cast of Lost, or Battlestar Galactica's Cyloneriffic Tricia Helfer. TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington blew a couple of Benjamins to test the site and sure enough, here's Shatner's videotaped greeting. Drop the price to ten bucks and we've got a business model for Julia Allison.
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By Paul BoutinComment by raincoaster: Awesomenosity in spades! Why wasn't this available for my birthday? A personal, snarky greeting from The Shat himself? Life, my... more » | Other threads
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techcrunch
Arrington to PR people: Please die
TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington's latest barbed-arrow barrage is aimed dead-center at the foreheads of the most annoying people in our inbox: The PR professionals who hawk startups. More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by raincoaster: I just have to support this on general principles, especially since ghostblogging is very, very lucrative. more » | Other threads
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