Mark Evans

The Crunchies: Another Sign of a Bubble

Apologies to Om Malik - one of the nicest guys in technology journalism/blogging - but the newly-created Crunchies (an award that recognizes the best start-ups) comes across as just another sign of the growing dot-com froth.

A creation of some blogging heavyweights - GigaOm, Read/WriteWeb, TechCrunch and VentureBeat - the Crunchies is a bad idea because awards tend to be political, sentimental and, often, inaccurate affairs/popularity contests that alienate as much as they recognize.

What about recognizing start-ups that build real businesses that have strong revenue growth and hire lots of people as opposed to letting the community vote on their favorite start-up?

Addendum: Just to be clear, my fascination (obsession?) with signs of a bubble emerging doesn’t suggest I’m bearish. In fact, I’m still very bullish about the Web, how useful it’s becoming and how it’s great to see so much entrepreneurial activity.

I am, however, leery about the party getting out of hand. Things such as awards, launch parties with open bars, private equity given to companies with no obvious ways to make money, and a growing focus on eyeballs are all warning signs. No doubt the bubble will eventually burst. But this time around, I think it will be less severe and, in many respects, be a healthy exercise.

Update: It’s nice to see that I’m not the only way who views the Crunchies in a less-than-positive way. MakeYouGoHmm weighs in a little more bluntly.

Technorati Tags: Crunchies, TechCrunch