By now, I have done quite a nice amount of interviews with some of the most awesome people in tech. You can see a partial list here. All of the people I was fortunate enough to interview have had an effect in one way or another on my career as a content and marketing guy. However, MG Siegler leads the pack for me. He is one of the main writers/journalists on TechCrunch, which is widely accepted as the Web’s top authority on tech and startups, but that is not why I am such a fan.
I just came across a very disturbing article written by none other, than Mr. TechCrunch, Michael Arrington. Just to summarize it, Arrington is taking some time off from blogging. What seems to be the straw that broke the camel’s back was a very extraordinary event he experienced in his recent visit to the DLD Conference in Germany. Basically, as he was leaving, after a long and very tiring day, he was approached by someone who apparently did not get the exposure he would have wanted from TechCrunch, and was spat on. No, that is not a metaphor for the man saying something not nice to him, the guy actually hocked a lugi at Arrington. This is after Mike had his and his family’s lives threatened by another lunatic last year, which led him to have to hide out and walk around with constant security for a significant amount of time.
Arrington: Would You Spit On This Guy?
Now, this bothers me on so many levels, I do not even know where to begin. OK, I do not think this is the appropriate stage to discuss manners and ethical behavior, so I will focus on a different aspect. The Web has been known to be the most effective tool ever in marketing your business, and if there is one site that does it best, it is TechCrunch. You get your company mentioned by Arrington and you’re set. However, there is another side to that equation. The staff at TechCrunch do not randomly decide who to publicize and who to leave out. I am pretty sure they do not determine the topic of a post based on how nice the company’s logo is. They also have readers, and they need to keep them interested. He knows his audience and he writes accordingly. If Arrington posted about every company that he was exposed to, TechCrunch would not be what it is today.
But that’s not all. As I said, the Web can be a CEO’s best friend. One mention on the right site at the right time can make or break a startup. However, and this I can tell you from watching friends I have that work around the clock trying to promote their company, if your company does not succeed, no blogger or site is to blame. Yes, they could have helped, but making a successful startup takes years of sweat and tears, and that cannot be avoided. This guy who thought spitting is an appropriate reaction to his life’s failures, obviously has a failing company and he decided to blame the wrong person.
So to the spitter, I have two things to say:
To build a successful company from the ground up, you need a lot of patience, maturity, and vision. Not to mention a good idea and an intelligent staff. Based on your behavior, you lack every single one of those traits.
To quote a friend “Who spits these days”? Seriously though, spit? Really?
To Arrington (since I know he is reading), I say come back soon and keep up what you have been doing. I think it is safe to say that every tech blogger out there looks to you for inspiration. Wow, OK, Itamar made fun of me about my last post when I said Oren is a “sweet guy”, I wonder how he is going to react to this.
