Search results

TechCrunch Founder Interview on iinnovate -- Arrington Talks About How Blogging Is a Treadmill

by Tom Johnson on Jun 16, 2007
categories: blogging technical-writing

Michael ArringtonThis innovate podcast with Michael Arrington, founder of TechCrunch, provides an interesting look into entrepreneurship. Arrington says blogging can be like a treadmill rather than a train — the treadmill (blog) just requires more and more content without really going anywhere. He actually says blogging is not a good business. Each day you have to generate new, interesting content for your blog to keep readers coming back.

The best kinds of businesses are network-related, such as Digg.com, where users generate the content. In this model, each new user who comes to your site adds value. Because the content is user-generated, it frees up your time to begin other startups or to grow your business in other ways.

For those wanting to be mentioned on Tech Crunch, he says your product or service should be so good that it speaks for itself. If you have to spend a lot of time marketing it, the product probably isn't that good. News of killers apps and services travels fast and doesn't require extensive marketing.

When choosing a vocation, Arrington says to pursue something you're passionate about. If you want to be successful, it's going to require a lot of time and energy — perhaps 15-hour days. If you're not passionate about the endeavor, you'll have a hard time spending a lot of time doing it.

Because Michael Arrington is a big-name blogger (he has nearly 500K subscribers to his Tech Crunch), he receives a lot of criticism from readers — approximately 30-40 criticisms a day. Some are merited, he says, while many others are nasty. Receiving one or two of these messages isn't the same as receiving 30-40 daily. The effect of 30-40 criticisms a day is magnifying, and it has hardened him. Now he looks past criticism and it doesn't bother him as much, but it did change his personality.

In addition to Tech Crunch, Arrington also has a podcast called TalkCrunch.

About Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson

I'm an API technical writer based in the Seattle area. On this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, AI, information architecture, content strategy, writing processes, plain language, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my API documentation course if you're looking for more info about documenting APIs. Or see my posts on AI and AI course section for more on the latest in AI and tech comm.

If you're a technical writer and want to keep on top of the latest trends in the tech comm, be sure to subscribe to email updates below. You can also learn more about me or contact me. Finally, note that the opinions I express on my blog are my own points of view, not that of my employer.