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AOL Close to Buying TechCrunch

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Re: AOL Close to Buying TechCrunch

#41

Post by aresant »

I get why AOL - the cash, their focus on content, etc.

But the right fit?

Some of the stuff Arrington writes would probably be struck by a sales / publicly traded editing bay yah?

Beyond that I would love to see a list of TechCrunch's most visited articles over the past year.

It might just be the HN bubble but I feel like 2/3 of the non-fluff stuff comes from arrington's deep connections.

And it doesn't just seem like Arrington playing "founder" rolling out the big news, it seems like genuinely developing from his passion for the tech space.

After his extended vacation a few years ago, and the thoughts he expressed on loving / hating / being exhausted w/TechCrunch I can't imagine he's going to stick around.

Examples of other blogs built on a founders passion that made it through an aquistion (EG discluding Weblogs topical gossip rags)?

Re: AOL Close to Buying TechCrunch

#45

Post by ig1 »

aresant wrote: post #41

I get why AOL - the cash, their focus on content, etc. But the right fit? Some of the stuff Arrington writes would probably be struck by a sales / publicly traded editing bay yah? Beyond that I would love to see a list of TechCrunch's most visited articles over the past year. It might just be the HN bubble but I feel like 2/3 of the non-fluff stuff comes from arrington's deep connections. And it doesn't just seem lik…

Another issue is embargo breaking which TC does frequently. A lot of companies have the policy that if a news outlet breaks an embargo, than that outlet _and_ it's parent & sister companies are banned from future embargoed releases. So I'd imagine AOL would have to put a stop to that.

Re: AOL Close to Buying TechCrunch

#47

Post by prawn »

zacharycohn wrote: post #26
melvinram wrote: post #3

Congrats to MA & crew if it's true. Regardless of whether people care for his style of writing or what TechCrunch has become (I don't mind most of it), it warms me up to see people who bust their asses get rewarded handsomely (assuming the payoff will be good.) I just hope AOL won't kill it by injecting content from random Seed.com writers, similar to the way Demand Media turned eHow and LiveStrong into content beds.…

(I would hope that) AOL should know enough to identify what makes something like TechCrunch successful. If they start filling it with shammy writing and mediocre content, it will lose its audience and die. [edit- grammar]

And possibly create a great opportunity for someone new to emerge and fill that vacant space left by the 'old' TechCrunch?

Re: AOL Close to Buying TechCrunch

#48

Post by davidu »

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #18
melvinram wrote: post #3

Congrats to MA & crew if it's true. Regardless of whether people care for his style of writing or what TechCrunch has become (I don't mind most of it), it warms me up to see people who bust their asses get rewarded handsomely (assuming the payoff will be good.) I just hope AOL won't kill it by injecting content from random Seed.com writers, similar to the way Demand Media turned eHow and LiveStrong into content beds.…

IMO, the quality of MG Siegler's writing is barely a step up from content farms.

Aaron --

MG is one of the few TC writers who editorializes pretty liberally in his posts. I appreciate that as it makes it more interesting and it doesn't bother me as I happen to agree with most of what he says. To editorialize successfully requires you to have a strong grasp of the industry, the market forces and what direction it's moving in -- all of which I think he does quite well, along the likes of MA or Om Malik.

You may not like his writing but it's a far cry from a content farm. He's a writer. He's paid to write. That's what he does.

I have no idea why you have so many upvotes, and I guess I'm really surprised so many people agree with you.

Re: AOL Close to Buying TechCrunch

#49

Post by ojbyrne »

staunch wrote: post #7

"I moved my primary residence from Silicon Valley to Seattle" Hmm, that's very specific wording there. In my world, filled with tax advisors and lawyers, this translates to "I'm trying to avoid paying California state income tax on capital gains I will accrue in the near future." -- master's prediction http://news.ycombinator.net/item?id=1314487

Which should give it some urgency as WA has a state income tax on the ballot this fall.

Re: AOL Close to Buying TechCrunch

#50

Post by ojbyrne »

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #19
swombat wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dubious. I imagine you could give Steve Jobs $100 trillion and he still wouldn't sell Apple. What would he do with his life? Buy Apple back?

Why does a price have to be monetary in nature? I'm sure that, were it entirely up to Steve, there is something that would make him sell Apple.

I'd guess a merger that gave him a chance to bury Microsoft might make him sit up and take notice. HP maybe? Their hardware and channels exclusively running Macos would be a juggernaut.
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