We've previously documented the wonderfully instigation-happy writing style of Alexia Tsotsis, the TechCrunch blogger who clearly knows something about severance packages at AOL that everyone else doesn't. Because she's at it again, writing like she wants to get fired, or at least test the limits of TechCrunch's autonomy and/or Arianna Huffington's patience. Read More
A former TechCrunch employee—in the great tradition of many a former TechCrunch employee—is going after the site, asking them on Twitter: "not trying to be a dick but are you still a news site?"
The egregious offense of journalism Lacy offered up for her case? Read More
IMPRESSIVE DISPLAYS OF CHUTZPAH
Alexia Tsotsis was a well-liked and popular tech blogger before she was at TechCrunch, back when she was at SF Weekly. She became even more well-liked and popular when Michael Arrington corralled her into going to TechCrunch, which was shortly before AOL bought the site out and promised Michael Arrington the full editorial autonomy to be as combative and belligerent with his new ownership as he had been with anyone with the past. Not long after, AOL chief content capo Arianna Huffington pushed Michael Arrington out to show him just how much autonomy the irascible feeding-hand-biting blogging mogul had. Because TechCrunch's chief Kool-Aid mixer, Mr. Arrington, was out of the picture, some of the best TechCrunch writers on staff started quitting. Ms. Tsotsis has held out.
It is now safe to say she appears tired of holding out. Read More
Three months ago, the Transom broke some news to Jason Calacanis, former publisher of the New York-based dot-com bust chronicle Silicon Alley Reporter. Mr. Calacanis was sitting in the corner of a South By Southwest party, contemplating whether he could use the edge of a table to open a Heineken, when we told him his former employee Josh Topolsky had just quit as editor of the popular AOL-owned tech blog Engadget. “What?!” Mr. Calacanis said, lunging for his BlackBerry: “Hey @joshuatopolsky,” he tweeted. “I have a blank check here with your name on it. Let me know where to send it.” He sat back and took a smug swig; a server had opened the bottle. “I love making public offers,” he said. “It’s win-win. If they take it, I win. If they don’t take it, I win because it’s baller.” Read More
Pete Cashmore's Mashable--"Social Media News and Web Tips"--dominates the tech blogosphere. The site has 2.2 million followers on Twitter (where the brand still leverages Mr. Cashmore's sculpted face as its avatar), 439,000 fans on Facebook, and more than 60,000 followers on Foursquare. A positive review on Mashable can crush a young app's website Read More
An interesting juxtaposition played out this morning between Rupert Murdoch's well-attended iPad newspaper announcement and the early reviews of one of the New York Times's chosen news startups.
The Daily is a $30 million, human-powered editorial team of 100 that will "marry journalistic expertise that runs deep in News Corp. with all that technology offers," Read More
The up-and-coming search engine Blekko is pushing for a smarter kind of search. The site, which is making Google at least a little nervous, is attempting to train users to use "slash tags" to refine their queries.
"You know the sites you want search results from and you know the spammers, SEO gamers and Read More
Four ad startups are banding together to challenge the dominance of Google and Microsoft in search and online advertising, Erick Schonfield at TechCrunch reports.
The two megacompanies operate massive networks across millions of sites and can serve up comprehensive data on how users are interacting with ads, so why would an advertiser go with anyone Read More
Next New Networks is a New York-based network of online video producers that has had a hand in YouTube hits including Obama Girl, Autotune the News and the Bed Intruder Song, which was the most-viewed YouTube video of the year.
YouTube is rumored to be in talks to buy NNN, but TechCrunch is reporting something Read More
TechCrunch is reporting that the California-based startup BrightKite, previously considered a Foursquare competitor, is now pivoting away from the check-in and going all in on group messaging:
Going forward, the focus for Brightkite will mainly be on the success they've had with group texting. Their new ambition is to be "the default text messaging application Read More
TechCrunch reported today that Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley admitted the company once had an offer for "in the ballpark" of $140 million. Crowley later walked it back--but if true, the offer would have been more than 100 times the $1.35 million in seed funding Foursquare had raised at the time. Other tidbits Read More
MG Siegler has a post up at TechCrunch giving the big "so what" to doomsayers who have been fretting about a tech bubble:
In other words, if this "bubble" were to pop, it wouldn't be the mothers and fathers of the world hoping to put their children through school who would be getting screwed. It Read More
Approximately 650 Yahoo employees may be losing their jobs. The reports of impending layoffs come amid rumors that the search engine giant and content provider may merge with AOL.
Techcrunch first broke the news in a post that said the company would be giving the axe to about 20 percent of their staff, or 2,500 Read More
UPDATE - Foursquare's response is now at the bottom
Becoming "mayor" of a location is the most coveted status in Foursquare. To win this honor you have to check in to a location more than anyone else, and to do that you actually have to go there, since Foursquare won't let you check in remotely. But Read More
