people won't think you're a dick and will think you're honest if what you say rings true. also, if what you say rings true over a period of time. so you may have to risk them thinking you're a dick NOW in order for them to trust you and think you're an honest guy in the long run with an opinion that can be trusted and cannot be swayed by stupid press things. here's to hoping you remain honest and dick-seeming for the time-being if that means you will prove yourself un-dickly and REAL, you know, for real for real.
MG Siegler
· 7 months ago
Ha ha, well put. Hear, hear.
Joe Dawson
· 7 months ago
I wrote about keeping it real also but in a different context as my partner thinks I'm too involved with social media, the real-time web and the stream instead of the real world ha! I trust your opinion and enjoy reading your thoughts on products and services! Keep it real :)
Stuart Foster
· 7 months ago
Being perceived as someone who is genuine and unabashedly honest takes time. I admittedly am still in the phase where half the people have no idea what I am talking about generally...and still consider me a dick to a certain extent. Wishing you luck on the "realness" journey...even when you are already there.
Bethany Siegler
· 7 months ago
Thanks for keeping it real for those of us who rely on folks like you to do so. Sometimes it may not feel rewarding, but remember then, there are those of us out there who prefer an honest evaluation. We want to be assured we'll get that from our trusted sources, like you. This means, on occasion, we may also become disappointed by your posts, because we wanted that particular software to be 'the one that did it all right.'
However, I can tell you, in advance of reading that ripping post, that is not the case with Yahoo, as I personally continue to be disappointed with many things they do! So really appreciate someone else - who they may hear - telling them what they are doing wrong! So, thank you in advance. Gotta go now, and read that ripping review...
Marshall Kirkpatrick
· 7 months ago
Dick. Just kidding. People also like to be told that they are naughty! ;) That can go too far, of course. I have crossed that line for sure but day in and day out just tell it like ya see it and people will continue to love you!
MG Siegler
· 7 months ago
I am kind of a dick, but hopefully not for my writing.
Jennifer Kutz
· 7 months ago
Amen
JonathanJoseph
· 7 months ago
Actually, I was noticing that since moving to Techcrunch you are not only regularly cranking out posts but that they have been nothing but meaty, insightful and appropriately direct. And the Yahoo post was right on...I am sure Arrington loves that you are calling it as it should be.
MG Siegler
· 7 months ago
Thanks Jonathan, appreciate it.
EricFriedman
· 7 months ago
Providing quality feedback that is both constructive, actionable, and concise is an art that I believe is a work in progress throughout your entire life. I have learned a lot recently how to do it both verbally in person, and in email - both difficult. Doing it in a public setting can add another layer of complexity. You are serving two masters as both readers who need to understand how much you know about the product, and potential company owners who want to one day explain things to you. Philosophically it seems possible to create a generic benchmark to always score people against, but in practice I have found this close to impossible (and people hate comparisons)
JohnAtkinson
· 7 months ago
This may be hard to conceive for startups, but critical reviews, especially if they have specific suggestions for improving the product, can actually help companies make better products.
The first review of our product by a major blog about a year ago wasn't glowing, but after we got over the initial shock of someone "calling our baby ugly", we stepped back, analyzed the suggested improvements and implemented them - and their next review was positive. In his follow up post, the blogger wrote:
"Surprisingly, and this doesn’t happen often in this business, the negative points I brought up in my review were taken to heart and incorporated in further features in the app."
Thankfully, the majority of our reviews have been positive, but it's the critical ones we spend the most time discussing internally. For the record, we prefer positive reviews ;)
Mark Hendrickson
· 7 months ago
This is a good point to make. When I wrote for TC, I also felt the uneasiness of criticizing companies that had just invited me to a pleasant PR event, given me a free lunch, and showered me with smiles. The same thing happens, to a more limited extent, when you get off the phone with the CEO of a company and you really like the guy and his enthusiasm for his product, but you have serious reservations about it.
There were certainly times when I held back a bit on how critical I was about companies, because I couldn't help but sympathize with the people behind them and want to avoid disappointing them after they had been so nice (this, btw, happens more often with smaller companies because they are generally more personal with their PR relations. a part of you also wants to see them succeed, unlike with Borg-like super companies that have already tasted success).
I regret the times I held back, however, because ultimately these people are so nice and accommodating to the media because they are trying to get good coverage. It's their job. It's nothing personal. If they like you as a person, it doesn't affect how they treat you, since they decided to treat you as they treat their best friend before they even met you. If you give them good coverage and it's undeserved, you've been duped, no matter how much you've hurt the feelings of that innocent engineer who has been toiling away for months to launch a product.
So, it's vital that editorialists and journalists alike have the ability to rise above the *means* by which they obtained their information and report on them as independently from those circumstances as possible. This is impossible to do 100%, even 70%. But if you don't try to distance yourself, then you're just eating out of companies' hands and you might as well be employed by them. Dan Lyons is perhaps the most vocal proponent of this view.
BTW, same thing goes for writing bad things about companies that have treated you badly. There's a similar temptation, just in the opposite direction, and it's only slightly less dangerous to the profession. You're also less likely to be called out for it, because people question negative opinions less often than they question positive ones (especially when they are directed towards the usual suspects. *cough* microsoft *cough* yahoo *cough*).
MG Siegler
· 7 months ago
Real good stuff Mark. But you already know that because I just told you that as you're sitting 5 feet away from me right now.
Mark Hendrickson
· 7 months ago
Creepy
Self-disclosure cuts both ways
· 6 months ago
Spare me.
Mark: tell us about your decision to bash Earthcomber in your so-called 'fair and balanced" article about Earthcomber suing Loopt, and later Techcrunch. Your pal in Australia told several people that you didn't even write the story yourself--and if you did--you were under the boss' orders.
That blew up in your face, and you were left holding the bag--as the named author--which ultimately led to your departure from Techcrunch.
Like the two of you, I am a reporter--although with a capital R--and I can smell conflict of interest and self-dealing a mile away. It's on BOTH your shoes. And what makes me laugh is when it's presented to you upfront.
Generally, you tend to run away from the messager, rather than respond to the message--as unpleasant is it may be.
Which of course, makes your posts about "fair and balanced' that much more pathetic.
Nick Valuy
· 6 months ago
Dude, this is exactly what you do with your Twitter posts on TC. How can u now see this? You are now a laughingstock of many. When Twitter fad passes and it will you will lose your job at TC.
MG Siegler
· 6 months ago
Oh my god, you're exactly right!
Self-disclosure cuts both ways
· 6 months ago
Why do you remain on the Masthead of Venturebeat, after you've left to join Techcrunch?
You hold yourself up as a beakon of fairness and self-disclosure, so feel free to answer the question.
manifest
· 5 months ago
Nice post thnx
Manifest Money
· 5 months ago
People also like to be told that they are naughty! ;) That can go too far, of course. I have crossed that line for sure but day in and day out just tell it like ya see it and people will continue to love you!
Health_Campus
· 3 months ago
Some good points raised in that post. Will be back to check for more.
All Comments
However, I can tell you, in advance of reading that ripping post, that is not the case with Yahoo, as I personally continue to be disappointed with many things they do! So really appreciate someone else - who they may hear - telling them what they are doing wrong! So, thank you in advance. Gotta go now, and read that ripping review...
The first review of our product by a major blog about a year ago wasn't glowing, but after we got over the initial shock of someone "calling our baby ugly", we stepped back, analyzed the suggested improvements and implemented them - and their next review was positive. In his follow up post, the blogger wrote:
"Surprisingly, and this doesn’t happen often in this business, the negative points I brought up in my review were taken to heart and incorporated in further features in the app."
Thankfully, the majority of our reviews have been positive, but it's the critical ones we spend the most time discussing internally. For the record, we prefer positive reviews ;)
There were certainly times when I held back a bit on how critical I was about companies, because I couldn't help but sympathize with the people behind them and want to avoid disappointing them after they had been so nice (this, btw, happens more often with smaller companies because they are generally more personal with their PR relations. a part of you also wants to see them succeed, unlike with Borg-like super companies that have already tasted success).
I regret the times I held back, however, because ultimately these people are so nice and accommodating to the media because they are trying to get good coverage. It's their job. It's nothing personal. If they like you as a person, it doesn't affect how they treat you, since they decided to treat you as they treat their best friend before they even met you. If you give them good coverage and it's undeserved, you've been duped, no matter how much you've hurt the feelings of that innocent engineer who has been toiling away for months to launch a product.
So, it's vital that editorialists and journalists alike have the ability to rise above the *means* by which they obtained their information and report on them as independently from those circumstances as possible. This is impossible to do 100%, even 70%. But if you don't try to distance yourself, then you're just eating out of companies' hands and you might as well be employed by them. Dan Lyons is perhaps the most vocal proponent of this view.
BTW, same thing goes for writing bad things about companies that have treated you badly. There's a similar temptation, just in the opposite direction, and it's only slightly less dangerous to the profession. You're also less likely to be called out for it, because people question negative opinions less often than they question positive ones (especially when they are directed towards the usual suspects. *cough* microsoft *cough* yahoo *cough*).
Mark: tell us about your decision to bash Earthcomber in your so-called 'fair and balanced" article about Earthcomber suing Loopt, and later Techcrunch. Your pal in Australia told several people that you didn't even write the story yourself--and if you did--you were under the boss' orders.
That blew up in your face, and you were left holding the bag--as the named author--which ultimately led to your departure from Techcrunch.
Like the two of you, I am a reporter--although with a capital R--and I can smell conflict of interest and self-dealing a mile away. It's on BOTH your shoes. And what makes me laugh is when it's presented to you upfront.
Generally, you tend to run away from the messager, rather than respond to the message--as unpleasant is it may be.
Which of course, makes your posts about "fair and balanced' that much more pathetic.
You hold yourself up as a beakon of fairness and self-disclosure, so feel free to answer the question.
Cheers
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