Michael Arrington has done a terrific job riding the Web 2.0 wave. Starting as a little known blogger in 2005, he has created the TechCrunch empire and, in the process, positioned himself as the one of the most influential people on the Web. So it’s surprising, if not shocking, to see him write a post suggesting that things within Silicon Valley have gotten out of hand. It’s like Arrington helped create a huge, wild party – and he’s now trying to hustle people out the door.
“I left Silicon Valley at the peak of the insanity last time around, and I was pleasantly surprised when I returned in 2005 to see so much goodwill and community surrounding innovation,” he wrote. “Now, it’s just like the old days again, and Silicon Valley is no longer any fun. In fact, it’s turned downright nasty. It may be time for some of use to leave for a while and watch the craziness from the outside again.”
Maybe Arrington is being prematurely alarmed by all the venture capital being invested, the M&A activity, and the growing hype within the media – all of which is reminiscent of the dot-com boom. But perhaps it’s a healthy thing if someone, especially someone with Arrington’s profile, put the spotlight on the investment, start-up and media frenzy now happening. It must be difficult for him to be the Paul Revere (or Laura Second for Canadian historians) who’s charged with the job of warning the Web 2.0 community that trouble may be on the horizon.
For other views, check out BoomTown, who suggests Arrington just say no to the tsunami of PR practitioners trying to bang down his door. Meanwhile, Dave Winer applauds Arrington’s move as “cool”, and wonders what kind of reception he’ll be getting from “VCs and BigCo execs”.
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[...] to products and services that make life and work easier, more fun, more interesting, and so on. And Mark Evans smartly points out that Michael Arrington’s feelings are somewhat ironic considering that the web 2.0 wave [...]