I like Mike Arrington. So sue me.
Mike Arrington is pissed off. He’s fed up with the criticism he’s getting for his conflicts of interest (investing in companies he covers or who sponsor his site, buddying up with people he then writes about), the scoops he gets on what used to be on CNET, PC World and other leading tech publications.
Those charges of conflict of interest and skullduggery may all be true, but I like Mike.
He’s human. He speaks with a clear voice. You know who his friends are. He makes no pretense at objectivity. He doesn’t publish under a moniker like “fair and balanced” because it really isn’t. It’s “What (or Who) Mike Likes”.
That’s the magnetism that attracts many of us to his site day after day. There are plenty of other sites that showcase new Web 2.0 startups and their products, but Mike does it with an edge. It’s so unmistakably Mike-y. Even his sidekick, Marshall Kilpatrick does it the “Mike” way.
You think about it, that’s why people like Dave Winer or Jason Calacanis (even though they might piss them off).
You read them, it’s like you’re sitting there talking with them. Like you’re getting the real scoop over a mug of beer. Like he’s your bud, telling you stories.
That’s what “voice” and a clear point of view do for you.
It may piss some people off, true…
But for the most part, it gives you true authenticity and credibility… and lots of readers.
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this is nonsense. TC is billed as a ‘web 2.0 blog covering startups’, not ’some blog about web 2.0 startups that have deep financial, social, legal, and personal connections to the author’, and TC is happy to promote that delusion. they deserve whatever flack they’re getting for their ongoing debacle. TC can either start disclosing conflicts of interest or just admit to being a propaganda toolshed - it’s one or the other. the Republican strategy of attacking the messenger won’t work in this case. TC is not Google.
Mike does disclose all his investments on his About page, but it would probably be difficult for him to list all the people he is friendly with in the business. I don’t believe there is any such thing as true objectivity, and I don’t expect it out of him, nor — in his post — do I believe he said anything to mislead us in that regard. He’s pretty up front about how he does things.