arrington

The conversational nature of blogs allows editors to ask their readers to weigh in--even decide--issues that affect the publication. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Michael Arrington at TechCrunch empowered his readers to determine whether the site should accept advertising from Izea. Arrington agreed to abide by the results of the poll. After 24 hours, voting concluded with just under 3,500 people taking part.

Traditional news outlets often establish a wall between the editorial and advertising departments to maintain editorial independence. In other words, the people who line up advertisements have no say in the content, and the editorial staff is completely removed from deciding which advertising clients to engage. Of course, such an arrangement is all but impossible for most blogs and other small publications. These small outlets often have a staff of one, and even with a half-dozen at the helm it may not make sense to dedicate an entire employee to handle advertising.… Read more

Yeah, yeah, we know. Tech's natural home is the Bay Area. New York is for everything else. But as TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington and Silicon Alley Insider founder Henry Blodget blog their way into a full-on catfight over which one has the authority to predict the future of the dot-com industry, we figured it was time to give our readers around the world an understanding of two very different cities' very different tech scenes. From hot babes to tasty food, here's what you need to know about the fundamental differences between the Bay Area and the Boroughs.

You'd think it would've drawn crowds.

TechCrunch founder and controversial Valley 2.0 icon Michael Arrington was making a rare appearance in New York, moderating a panel at the DigitalLife trade show on Thursday night. And the panel in question, called "The Disruptors," included a few of the start-up world's hottest names: Napster, Plaxo, and Facebook veteran Sean Parker (currently of the Founders Fund); Oovoo CEO Philippe Schwartz; SpinVox co-founder Daniel Doulton; IGA Worldwide CEO Justin Townsend; and Ooma founder Andrew Frame. Considering the resurgence of tech culture and startup spirit in New York in … Read more

It's been quite a day. Over at TechCrunch, Michael Arrington says I'm not part of the "club" that is the blogosphere because, among other things, I simply "represent everything that we bloggers are trying to kill."

When I read that line, Groucho Marx's brilliant bon mot about clubs and their discontents immediately came to mind. But enough of that. Anyway, I think I've said all that I can about the Federated Media affair.

For those who (blissfully) may have been away at the beach the last few days, there's been quite … Read more

As they are wont to say back where I grew up, Chas Edwards is a stand-up guy. Full disclosure: Chas is a former CNET colleague who left the company more than a year ago to become the publisher of Federated Media, which has become ground zero in the storm over "conversational media."

So it is that Chas has now published his thoughts on the affair under the heading "Does relevant advertising mean selling out?"

But first a brief recap: On Friday, Valleywag reported about a site tied to a Microsoft ad campaign where several online publishers and venture capitalists lent their support to Microsoft's "People-Ready" advertising slogan.

That triggered an outpouring of conflicting opinions in the blogosphere. My Friday afternoon post asked why these guys would inexplicably pimp a Microsoft catchphrase. In a similar vein, Jeff Jarvis had it right when he headlined his comment on the situation "Buying their voices."

"So ultimately, this is a cautionary tale for all bloggers who take ads: You must set your own boundaries and not let them be pushed. When you do--whatever those boundaries are--that is the very definition of selling out."

I think Jarvis' is a cogent summary of the problem. It won't make a difference whether we're talking about "new media" or "old media." Without boundaries, there's going to be trouble in River City.

Uber-blogger Robert Scoble didn't agree and asked why it's OK for Leo LaPorte to endorse products for radio commercials but not Michael Arrington. Leo responded shortly thereafter, saying he wasn't crazy about doing ads on radio.

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What would possess a collection of online publishers and venture capitalists to pimp a Microsoft advertising slogan?

Valleywag today reported about a site tied to a Microsoft ad campaign where the likes of Michael Arrington, Om Malik and others seemingly lend their support to the "people-ready" catchphrase.

I sent e-mails both to Arrington and Malik and--surprise, surprise--heard nothing back. (Obviously, they are not yet sufficiently "Coop-ready.") Microsoft was still checking for me into whether money exchanged hands. But even if not a single shekel exchanged hands, I must wonder about the absence of common sense. Why … Read more