It has been a great time watching Michael Arrington’s meteoric rise to fame in the “Web 2.0″ world. At first, I didn’t really see what the big deal was and figured that Michael had lucked out more than anything. But as TechCrunch started taking off and the attacks on Michael started getting more vicious, I realized that it wasn’t luck that got Michael where he is but a love for Web 2.0 companies. When I finally got to meet him at the Seattle TechCrunch party, my Arrington conversion was complete. I now have nothing but total respect for the man and what he’s been able to do in such a short time with little more than rabid enthusiasm and the enjoyment of profiling companies fueling him on.
He has always talked about expanding the TechCrunch family, which he did with MobileCrunch and then a couple of regional versions of his main site. This week, he released CrunchBoard, taking a stab at the niche job market. I thought the site was quite good, though lacking in search, and has a lot of potential. But watching Michael has me wondering if he is the Google of Web 2.0. There is no negative connotation behind that, as I have similar respect for what Google has been able to do – essentially reinvigorating the Ajax space and making developers think about the web in whole new ways. I think Arrington is doing something similar with Web 2.0. He’s monetized it just as Google was able to do with Search, but he’s taken it a step further by adding properties, hiring a staff, and pushing the envelope of what a web site is.
Can we be far off from independent tracking of what Arrington is going to do next? (crunchingtechcrunch.com is available as is crunchwatch.com) He is far and away one of Valleywag’s most consistent targets, and he manages to take it (mostly) all in stride. That can be a difficult thing to do within the web as the anonymity allows people to say things they wouldn’t normally say.
This post may seem a bit out of character, but I believe that Michael Arrington will have a very prominent role in the development of RIAs, even if he doesn’t know it yet. Partly, it comes with the territory he has claimed for himself, and he does review a lot of the RIAs that we’re seeing. But with the building of the TechCrunch brand, he has put himself front and center as the web changes. Just as Google expanded from basic search to a media company, Michael can expand from Web 2.0 into the RIA space. His image as the gate keeper of new and interesting things happening with the web will mean that people creating RIA solutions will look to him for support and feedback. Perhaps the browser isn’t dead yet, but when it dies, TechCrunch will undoubtedly be tracking its demise.
I’d seen the chocolate from Verizon Wireless before, but I hadn’t realized it was a Flash Lite phone until reading Bill Perry’s post. I am absolutely stoked about this. Luckily, I’m a Verizon customer, so I’m going to give them a ring tomorrow and see what kind of deal I can cut. It looks like it’s currently sitting at $149 with a 2 year activation. According to Bill, it’s going to support the Flash Lite for BREW extension, so that means getting content should be a snap. With expandable memory, V CAST and a Bluetooth Stereo, I’m already hooked.
. The first is a New York Times article on Adobe which I found via