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TechCrunch

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TechCrunch
File:Techcrunch.png
Type of site
Web 2.0 Blog
Available inEnglish, French, Japanese
HeadquartersBay Area, United States
OwnerTechCrunch
Created byMichael Arrington
RevenueUS$200,000 monthly[1]
URLhttp://www.techcrunch.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationNone

TechCrunch is a blog company that profiles startup companies, products and websites. It was founded by Michael Arrington in 2005. The blog's first post was on June 11, 2005.[3]

The website's Technorati rank is 2,[4] and is 1st on the list, if you search by the Info/Tech category.[5] As of February 11, 2010 it has over 4,563,000 RSS feed subscribers as measured by tracking company FeedBurner. On August 27, 2008, TechCrunch rolled out a new website design. In March 2010, TechCrunch announced it would be launching TechCrunch TV.

TechCrunch Network

TechCrunch is now affiliated with several other websites, commonly referred to as the The TechCrunch Network. As of July 28, 2008, these include:

  • CrunchNotes – An informal personal blog about Web 2.0 written by Michael Arrington.
  • TechCrunch France – Edited by Ouriel Ohayon and launched in February 2006. Features translations of posts from the main TechCrunch blog as well as original content. The blog has been inactive since summer 2009 and Cedric Giorgi and Roxanne Varza have been covering France content as part of TechCrunch Europe since.
  • TechCrunch Japan – Features translations of the American TechCrunch as well as original content.
  • TechCrunch Europe – Original blog (then TechCrunch UK) canceled following an online argument involving Arrington, TC UK editor Sam Sethi, and Loic Le Meur on 13 December 2006[6].; focused on European or Europe-targeted Web 2.0 services. Relaunched in September 2007 with a new editor, Mike Butcher.
  • MobileCrunch – A blog tracking the Mobile Computing industry, edited by Greg Kumparak.
  • TalkCrunch – A podcast about Web 2.0, featuring interviews with founders of assorted Web 2.0 companies, covering new product launches and the like.
  • CrunchGear – A blog covering gadgets and computer hardware, edited by John Biggs.
  • CrunchBase – A wiki-style database of Web 2.0 companies, people, and investors.
  • CrunchBoard – A Web 2.0 job board
  • TechCrunch IT
  • InviteShare
  • Gillmor Gang
  • Elevator Pitches

Programs

The organization held a live event, the TechCrunch50, on September 8–10, 2008 in San Francisco, California. TechCrunch also runs The Europas awards[7] and is a founding host of The Crunchies.[8]

Criticism

TechCrunch faces a high degree of public scrutiny, and TechCrunch employees have been periodically accused of various conflicts of interest.[9][10] Oliver Starr, the original editor of MobileCrunch, was apparently fired[citation needed] by Arrington, allegedly[who?] for a conflict of interest arising from Starr's serving as Senior Mobile Analyst for "The Guidewire Group."[citation needed] Starr said that his termination arose from a dispute with Arrington over payments due Starr.[citation needed]

Editor Michael Arrington also has investments in numerous companies TechCrunch covers, including Seesmic, Twitter, Mahalo, gdgt, among others.[citation needed]

Bribery Scandal

In February 2010, Michael Arrington reported on Techcrunch that "one of [Techcrunch's] interns had asked for compensation in exchange for a blog post". Arrington also stated that intern had specifically asked a startup for a Macbook Air in exchange for authoring a post about said startup. Furthermore, Arrington admitted that the intern had taken compensation for at least one post in the past. In response Arrington terminated the intern, and removed the intern's archived posts from the TechCrunch website. The 17 year-old intern in question, Daniel Brusilovsky, posted a statement on his blog shortly thereafter, admitting that "a line was crossed".[11]

Following Arrington's statement, numerous criticisms arose questioning TechCrunch's handling of the incident. Tech gossip blog Valleywag questioned Arrington's characterization of Brusilovsky as an "intern"[12], when he had previously been described on the TechCrunch website as a "writer for Techcrunch, while also working on events, conferences and business development".[13] This was confirmed by Brusilovsky who said in a radio transcript that he was a part time employee with Techcrunch business cards.[14] Additionally, others brought into question Techcrunch's previous incidents involving improper disclosure, notably writer Sarah Lacy's review of a colon cleansing product, BluePrint Cleanse.[15]

References

  1. ^ Wired profile
  2. ^ "techcrunch.com - Traffic Details from Alexa". Alexa Internet, Inc. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
  3. ^ First post
  4. ^ TechCrunch Page on Technorati
  5. ^ Technorati Favorites
  6. ^ CrunchNotes » Putting TechCrunch UK On Hold
  7. ^ The Europas
  8. ^ The Crunchies
  9. ^ http://www.crunchnotes.com/?p=300 Crunchnotes
  10. ^ Be a sponsor and TechCrunch changes their tune :: Adam Kalsey
  11. ^ http://www.danielbru.com/2010/02/the-line-was-crossed/
  12. ^ http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/02/04/an-apology-to-our-readers/
  13. ^ http://valleywag.gawker.com/5465181/tech-journalism-wunderkind-in-bribery-scandal
  14. ^ http://mixergy.com/daniel-brusilovsky/
  15. ^ http://www.wolf-howl.com/news/sponsored-posts-techcrunch/
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