Popular Websites You Didn’t Know Started as Blogs

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Despite being one of the biggest industries to follow the birth of the internet, the word “blog” still has somewhat humble connotations. Perhaps it’s because it’s so ubiquitous with the “do-it-yourself” mentality of the web—who doesn’t know somebody who’s started their own? But what average internet users don’t realize is that some of the most popular (and profitable) sites on the web are actually highly successful blogs.

From pop news sites like Mashable to advice sites like LifeHacker, many of today’s most popular online destinations began life as simple blogs; the vision of one person transformed into businesses that rival well-established print and web magazines. Each one is a story of success, and a testament to the power of dedication, hard work, and the ample opportunities the internet provides aspiring entrepreneurs. [Read more…]

Rumor: AOL To Acquire Another Blog Empire? (TechCrunch)

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After acquiring Weblogs, Inc. in 2005, AOL is rumored to be seeking to purchase the TechCrunch empire founded by Michael Arrington.

AOL, the New York-based online media company, is on the verge of acquiring TechCrunch, the online blogging network started by former attorney, Michael Arrington. The deal is at a sensitive stage and might fall apart yet, but I don’t think so. Sources familiar with both entities says that the announcement is likely to come onstage at Disrupt, TechCrunch’s flagship conference currently underway in San Francisco. (via GigaOm)

According to Om Malik, Tim Armstrong (AOL’s CEO) is suppose to make an announcement at the end of TechCrunch Disrupt, which unveils innovative startups that (as the name implies) can disrupt the industry as a whole.

There is still no word on what price AOL is offering Arrington for ownership of the TechCrunch empire, but we will update this post as soon if we hear of anything new.

If Om’s sources are correct and TechCrunch is assimilated by the AOL giant, we will probably see TechCrunch powered by BlogSmith instead of WordPress (the former which AOL thus far delcined to release to the public).

With AOL snapping up some of the largest blog networks around, the only question that remains is, “Who’s next?”

This Time the Joke’s on TechCrunch

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Facebook has been having some fun with the folks over at TechCrunch, rolling out a Fax This Photo feature for the tech blog’s writers only. Jason Kincaid wrote a post about this brand new feature, which doesn’t exist outside of the TC office, and then spoke to the Facebook PR rep.

Hey Jason,

We’ve been testing this product since 1992, and we are thinking that we will be launching this “innovative” feature at TechCrunch 50.

What do you think???

Hilarious, and obviously TechCrunch has to detail it all in a blog post.

You won this round, Facebook. Enjoy your victory.

Gotta love some good humored pranks. Question is, how will this affect the next Facebook post on TechCrunch?

The Guardian Sacks Paul Carr

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Paul Carr used to write the Not Safe For Work column for The Guardian, but no more. The reason is a slashing of the freelance budget, says Carr on Twitter, and then goes on and tells us that he thought about doing the column for free but decided against it. That last part was on his blog though, which is a good thing because the reasoning would take up quite a few tweets… In the same blog post he writes a bit about leaving.

Having said all that, I will miss the outlet the Guardian gave me every week; to boast and swear and talk about things that were on my mind. I’m not sure there’s another UK paper that would give me such freedom – and for that reason I’ll be eternally grateful to my former paymasters. And I’ll miss them, like a sometimes-mental, socialist former girlfriend.

Michael Arrington over at TechCrunch isn’t sad about this. “Their loss our gain” he says, as he announces that Carr will be writing a weekly column for TechCrunch to run each Saturday morning. Good call, Carr’s Not Safe For Work Column over at The Guardian was a treat, and I’m thinking it was a huge mistake to cut it loose. But that’s the media industry for you right now. I’m just surprised Nick Denton didn’t snatch him up already.

Bloggers: Punch Harder!

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Ryan Tate has the best post intro so far this year in the latest edition of Gawker-playing-Valleywag:

Remember when blogs were going to be fiercely independent firebrands who, purified of old media insidery stench, would pull no punches against traditional power structures? So much for that. Today’s laptop media is shaping up to be nothing but lapdogs.

The post is really about TechCrunch releasing those Twitter documents, and the rings on the water. I don’t care about that, old news, and really a lot of noise for typical journalistic behavior.

Yes, that’s right. Michael Arrington did what thousands have done before him, but on a blog rather than in a newspaper. So who cares? [Read more…]

Twitter on the Internal Documents

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Twitter has published a blog post commenting on the internal documents that are running on TechCrunch. They were obtained through an email hack on an administrative employee’s account, which in turn gave access to Twitter’s Google Apps account. They are stressing the fact that it was personal security that faltered, not Google Apps, but it still points a finger to one of the dangers of data in the cloud. No user accounts are compromised either, and naturally there’s legal actions from Twitter’s side.

Meanwhile, TechCrunch and others are having a field day with the income prognosis report, security issues and the fact that these documents are out in the open in the first place. And naturally it all boils down to a Valleywag post on the twitterati’s response to the breach.

That poor administrative employee will probably stick to better passwords in the future, eh?

TweetDeck Raises $2 Million in Funding

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TechCrunch reports that Twitter client TweetDeck has raised $2 million in funding. The news comes from a a panel where angel investor John Borthwick let it slip. Apparently the Twitter app and its branded versions are appealing to investors. I can see why, especially now that there is an iPhone app covering the mobility factor as well.

Sam Sethi Talks About the TechCrunch Lawsuit

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Earlier this week the news that Sam Sethi is suing TechCrunch hit, and as was expected Michael Arrington posted the legal documents, just as he has done before. The responses to the law firm’s letter to TechCrunch and Arrington have also been reposted, so if you want to dig into what has been said thus far, this is the only place I know of. The TechCrunch stance is obvious, of course:

Needless to say, we think these claims have no merit, otherwise we would not have written the posts in the first place, or would have retracted.

I did an email interview with Sethi, after he got in touch with me and wanted me to correct or retract the news story (which I didn’t do, obviously). I figured an interview would be the best way to get Sethi’s side of the story. [Read more…]

Twitter: Using Tweet is OK, Twitter Might Not Be

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Twitter has applied to trademark the word “Tweet” says the official blog. They think it is an obvious attachment to the Twitter brand, but say they have no intentions of going after users of the word.

We have applied to trademark Tweet because it is clearly attached to Twitter from a brand perspective but we have no intention of “going after” the wonderful applications and services that use the word in their name when associated with Twitter. In fact, we encourage the use of the word Tweet. However, if we come across a confusing or damaging project, the recourse to act responsibly to protect both users and our brand is important.

That’s good, I think. It is also good that they come clean and say that they are “a bit more wary” about the use of Twitter in projects. So cancel that Twitter Herald project and find another name, you might get in trouble otherwise. [Read more…]

Sam Sethi Sues TechCrunch

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Sam Sethi, the former TechCrunch writer, BlogNation owner, and Twitblogs founder, has filed a lawsuit against TechCrunch. For what, you might wonder? Nothing less than “a series of libelous postings” according to the lawsuit letter exchange reposted on Arrington’s CrunchNotes blog. There are some juicy details about Sethi there too, including claims that he’s being sued and is or was barred from being a director or manager for a company. I’ll not recount that though, since Arrington obviously is a party in this mess.

I’ll say this though, I love the openness of which Arrington treats these things. I know I’d think twice before publishing something from a law firm with this in the heading:

Letter Before Action
Private & Confidential (Not For Publication)