June 11, 2004
Calacanis Jumps the Shark?
With the launch this week of Bloggingbaby.com, Gothamist has begun to wonder if Weblogs Incorporated has jumped the shark. Jason Calacanis' 40th blog is dedicated to "pregnancy, baby care and parenting", which means lots of posts about baby products, lactation, and diaper-changes. The design features bright colors and a duck logo. Now don't get us wrong: Gothamist loves babies. Especially baby pandas, baby cats, and ravers sucking on pacifiers. But as with the launch of Nick Denton's Nike Blog, the launch of the "poopydiaperblog" does raise some questions:
- Scale: Jason has announced his intention to create 500 blogs within the next two years. It's only blog #40, and already we are reading posts about how to calculate your due-date. Weblogsinc already has blogs devoted to such scintillating subjects as Tablet PCs, Magazine Design, and Outsourcing. By the time Jason gets to blog #50 or blog #60, will the content be so mind-numbingly specific or mundane that it loses all coherence and the entire enteprise collapses into some unspeakable information black hole? Maybe.
- Quality: As the number of blogs approaches 100, Weblogsinc starts to look a lot like About.com. The credibility of any one site on the network seems to decrease as the network expands: can anyone explain why this effect exists? Perhaps its the dilution of the brand name. Perhaps its the difficulty of finding great writers to write about things like lactation. [Gothamist deleted a line in this paragraph. It went something like "Already Weblogsinc has recruited Jason Calacanis' mother, the wife of his partner, and a number of his friends. Surely not all of these people were born to be great bloggers."] If the quality of some of the blogs is subpar, how much will that impact on the reputation of the whole enterprise? Certainly, some of these blogs do not support a sexy, risk-taking, hipster-oriented, bi-coastal brand. Jason has said he wants to create blogs for middle Americans- but are there enough middle American blog readers to support Weblogsinc?
- Finances: Gothamist is also concerned about rationality of the Weblogsinc business model. Let's say Jason gets to 250 blogs in the next year (Unrealistic? The man is a machine!) Let's say each writer is paid $500 a month (Nick Denton's going rate is $2000 per month- and Pete Rojas surely would not have gone to work for much less). That's $125,000 a month in expense, or $1.5 million per year- without counting any other expenses. Now Jason is very generous, but this seems like an awful lot of expense to bear! Gothamist has seen Jason work out the math for us many times, but we just can't get it to add up ourselves. Can the average blog be expected to generate more than $500 a dollars a month in ad sales? Our experience says no.
- Agency Problems: Jason has said that his interests and the interests of his bloggers are well-aligned, but we see some potential problems. For instance, Jason has held out the carrot of advertising sales to all of his bloggers. Many of these sites will not see ads for a very long time, if ever. As Jason devotes most of his time (and the time of his ad sales staff) to the best performing blogs, will some of his bloggers get the short end of the stick? Will Jason be able to effectively manage all of his bloggers, and keep up any reasonable standard of quality? Our experience says no, and the Gothamist collective has only twenty writers.
Just to be clear: Gothamist jumped the shark with its first post on pandas, back in 2002. Our doubts about Weblogsinc are grave, but Jason Calacanis is a winner, and most likely every blogger in America will be working for him or for Nick Denton in five years time. While he drinks mai-tais outside his blog powered mansion in Bel Air, we'll be slaving in the basement of some Chinese restaurant on Pell Street, just trying to raise enough money to replace the fan on the Gothamist server. So you might want to ignore everything we just said. [Read some of Jason's thoughts on recent events]
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Blogging Baby as the shark jumper? I like it better than a site that's solely about the excitement of Bluetooth. I bet baby oriented people, when doing time at their desk jobs, will find time to check in.
And as for you lot, these world-o-the-internet things on Fridays are kinda asking for an avalanche of angry weekend comments....hope the traffic's worth it!
OH SNAP
Regarding quality:
Calacanis can publish an infinite amount of websites, avoid diluting the brand, and still make money, as long as he has a skill for choosing talented editors. But no one's perfect, so if he chooses a few bad apples the brand might suffer a bit. Still, 2 out of 3 ain't bad...
I might add that Weblogsinc, as a publisher, has both successful and semi-successful brand predecessors:
The "... for Dummies" series of books touches upon very much nearly every topic for which anyone could have every written an instructional book (Blogs for dummies?), and remains not only a lucrative business for IDC, but also a strong brand as well.
On the other hand, Yahoo! has suffered some brand erosion due to an aging (at times useless) directory, tough competition in the search engine market, and a deployment of endless semi-useful services. They, however, still make money.
That's about as good as I can write it in 5 minutes with no research.
I don't get it.
How is this different from, say, babycenter.com that has a latest news about parenting section plus articles already written by topic, plus community forums, etc.?
The tone of your comments is a bit odd, Jake. I take all of your points on the company's business model, but to single out a parenting blog as some outrageous devolution into niche publishing seems strange. There are a lot of reasonably tech-savvy people who are parents (I count myself as one), and parenting is in fact a very broad topic. A better criticism is Jammypup's: Unless BloggingBaby has some kind of extraordinary content, I can't see it gaining critical mass against the incredibly useful Babycenter and other existing resources.
yes- i can see how bloggingbaby would have a large audience- a cursory search on google reveals dozens, if not hundreds of baby blogs. babyblogs.com is a site that allows you to make a baby blog for your baby. but of course, that's not the point.
gothamist just likes to take a close look at these things once or twice a month- in this case, the question that we keep asking is how many blogs make sense for weblogsinc? Is it 50? 100? 500? Even the largest american publishers rarely go past that. can you be all things to all people? or does it make you a jack of all trades, master of none?
I actually get the logic of Weblogs Inc. creating blogs on specialized, un-sexy topics (like the Bluetooth Weblog and the Javascript Weblog). My weblogs are devoted to temping, which is sorta kinda un-sexy to most people.
I would say that Weblogs, Inc's AutoBlog and BabyBlog are intended more to create buzz for the brand rather than them representing any core business strategy. I mean, why would a significant number of people go to Weblogs, Inc to get info on cars and info on babycare longterm?
And like, why would a significant number of people go to Gawker.com to get stuff that they can get in the New York Post and People Magazine longterm?
Google Adsense makes earning $2,000, $6,000+ per month from a weblog not only possible but a relatively easy thing to achieve. Most weblogs I've seen aren't designed to make the best use of Google Adsense. I don't use Moveable Type or any of the other popular blogging software packages on any of my websites.
I once wrote a blog entry on my Drama NYC website ( http://www.dramanyc.com ) about the Martha Stewart trial. The next day when I went to this blog entry, there were Google Adsense ads above the entry for Martha Stewart Living products.
Google Adsense and the right blog software IS the killer app for bloggers.
Once a blogger realizes that he CAN earn a living from blogging and a "Google Adsense Enabled Website", Gawker Media and Weblogs Inc. don't hold much appeal. I mean, Google and Market Banker only take about 10%-25% of ad revenue from what I read. And Google can generate far more traffic to my websites on temping than Gawker Media and Weblogs, Inc. can.
Doesn't Google like own a blog site?
wooooo OUTRAGE ???
ahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
ahem scuse me
> > >--- jake@bluejake.com wrote:
> > >> Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 12:20:55 -0500
> > >> From: jake@bluejake.com
> > >> To: staff list
> > >>
> > >> well, that didn't go too well!
> > >>
> > >> jake
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: my mother is a nurse practioner
> > >> asshole
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: and Brian's wife Niki is a
> > >> perdiactic nurse asshole
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: and I'm not very wealthy jerk off
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: omg this is so playa hater and
> > >> stupid it is shocking
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: really
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: "while he drinks maitais outside his
> > >> blog powered mansion in Bel Air
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: we'll be slaving in the basement of
> > >> some Chinese restaur on PEll Street
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: what ap playa haters
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: look at the comments
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: The tone of your comments is a bit
> > >> odd, jake
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: you owe me a huge public apology
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: you know Jake, this is either that
> > >> your desperate to get
> > >> attention, jealous, stupid or wrote this post while
> > >> not thinking.
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: really disappointed in you.
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: Personal attacks on me that have no
> > >> basis in reality...
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: you just jumped the shark...
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: and took Jen with you
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: idiot
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: how dare you say shit about my
> > >> mother.
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: really.
> > >> Jake Dobkin: jeez, man- take it down ten notches-
> > > > the tone of the post is clearly playful
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: you are fucking asshole piece of
> > >> shit
> > >> Jake Dobkin: we're not allowed to question you? only nick?
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: how dare yousay shit about my mother
> > >> and my partners wife
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: they are fucking professionals...
> > >> something you should try and be
> > >> Jake Dobkin: what did we say about them? other than
> > >> that they are writing for you?
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: Surely not all of these people were
> > >> born to be great bloggers.
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: yo don't tap your friends?
> > >> Jake Dobkin: that's not a direct criticism of anyone
> > >> Jake Dobkin: and you yourself have said that most of
> > >> our bloggers aren't great
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: listed under quality
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: Already, Jason has tapped his
> > >> mother, friends, wives of
> > >> friends, etc. Surely not all of these people were
> > >> born to be great bloggers.
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: are you so stupid you dont see how i
> > >> would be insulted by that?
> > >> Jake Dobkin:
> > >>
> > >jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: go fuck yourself asshole
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: i
> > >> Jasoncalacanis: m done with you
> > > > Jasoncalacanis signed off at 1:23:06 PM.
Jake,
This whole post is insulting, *especially* the parts of the post about my mother and my partner Brian's wife that you have now taken out. If you were so sure of yourself why did you take those sections out?
In the original version of this post (that Jake has now changed), he claimed that mother is a liability for us in terms of quality. He also said my partner's wife is a quality problem.
First, I take this very personal... you don't talk about people's mothers and wives in Brooklyn--not if you're smart. However, all emotions aside:
1. My mother is a Nurse Practitioner with an MBA.
2. My partners wife is a pediatric nurse who specialized in dealing with premature babies, including many babies born with addictions to crack.
Who better to do a blog on babies?
Why are you so harsh on the idea of a blog on babies and parenting?
I used to have great respect for Gothamist.com, and I think Jen is really talented. However, I really don't understand what the point of this story is, and why you are using the quality that editorial that Jen has built up in Gothamist for your jealous, insulting and immature posts at people like Nick Denton and myself.
Jason
PS - I would get into the details of the business, but your thesis is so confused that I'd rather not spend my day educating you.
PSS - You also made a bunch of other little changes to this since your first post to pull it back, thanks for that but I would rather you put up the original and then state your changes then being sneaky and making little changes without telling the audience.
omg man, jake has started the War of the Bloggers.
omg man, jake has just started the War of the Bloggers.
Jaaaake, can Jason come out and play?
He was supposed to be targeting my new dads weblog and give me a Denton-style thrashing (and the resulting shower of publicity...)
http://daddytypes.com/archive/2004/06/09/calacanis_gives_up_on_denton_comes_after_me.html
Denton's the media darling. Calcanis is not. It's just the way it ended up. It doesn't necessarily make one model better than another. Denton stays quiet. Calcanis likes to debate. It's more fun to argue with someone who likes to argue, hence this post and the number of comments.
Of course a blog post is going to be all less than positive and snarky...it's how most blog writers write. (Yes, I'm generalizing wildly. Don't go nuts on that one)
The Calcanis model will work just like the B to B publishing model will work. If you don't believe me, go to the library and look for a copy of the Business to Business SRDS - you'll find thousands of niche publications. Pick up the Consumer (Denton) SRDS and it's less than half the size.
As to the money making aspects, I profess cluelessness and simply wish both the best at their endeavors.
Damn, I should have written this as a blog post on Adrants. Hmm...maybe I wil...cut...paste....bye.
YAWN. Who cares?
Wow. Blogging Baby definitely has baby cred...
Jason is a big, big baby.
I close my eyes, and I picture:
The last two men alive after a nuclear apocalypse, fighting over the last can of Spaghettios, so that one will get to live one extra day before dying of starvation - if the radiation poisoning doesn't get him first.
I wish both of these gentlemen (Mr. Denton and Mr. Calacanis) all the best, and I hope I am wrong in my belief that blogs have a very limited income potential, because I enjoy reading them every day, and I know some of you guys put your hearts into these things. And drink heavily.
HOWEVER, I also don't understand why these blogger types seem to believe that they are ensconced in some Holy Shroud of Protection Against Criticism.
So you start a business, and I criticize it. I should remove my opinions from the public domain because you don't agree with them? Who are you, Richard Fucking Nixon?
Jake, Jen, I mean no disrespect, and pardon my French, but take this (relative) puff-piece down, put the original item back up, and tell Mr. Calacanis to go fuck himself.
And if he doesn't like your opinion, maybe he should hire someone to start a blog like www.anti-gothamist.com, where he can bash you and call you "assholes" to his heart's content.
And, boy, do we Greeks know about assholes.
Seriously. I'm more offended by the apology than anything else. If someone (who claims to be a professional) can't take criticism and chooses to resort to vulgarity and name calling in response, they deserve to have their business fail.
Jason is made because everyone likes the slave-driver rock-headed Denton, over the puffy faced braggart Jason.
Gothamist updates faithfully everyday. Jason's blogs updated infrequently, when he isn't chasing a acting role in Sundance or milking checks out of Marc Cuban, or his former ventures.
Just remember, Jason is driven by the fact that he percieves that people don't like him.
I'm with Sparky and Jellyguy. While you can't retract the apology without seeming [fill in appropriate term here], if one cannot stand the heat, one should get out of the blogging kitchen, with or without one's qualified family members.
you don't talk about people's mothers and wives in Brooklyn--not if you're smart
Uh oh...I just moved to Brooklyn and I've been talking about your Mom since I got here.....
Calcanis comes off as such baby here... particularly in that IM transcript, but also in his comment addressed to Jake. Any person in business who hires any close relative or personal associate should expect a certain degree of skepticism from others. All JC had to say is, "please judge them in the future by their accumulated work, not your own preconceptions."
Gothamist had no foul here, IMO.
Good heavens. WAY professional way to handle criticism there, Calcanis.
As Fred Flintstone would say, "Uh, boy..."
I thought the post was funny. I'd think JC would think it was free publicity.
I'm surprised you guys apologized, but you guys do what you think you gotta do.
But... posting that email exchange with Jake was a good stroke... it kinda said it all. You can apologize to an asshole, but he's probably still an asshole.
i didn't have a problem apologizing to jason because i felt bad about hurting his feelings. i forget sometimes that people don't always have the same sense of humor. but i do think people should always be careful to give friends a chance to explain- and you should never, ever use that kind of language with friends.
PS,
>2. My partners wife is a pediatric nurse who >specialized in dealing with premature babies, >including many babies born with addictions to >crack.
Well then.... you will totally have the expectant crack mother demographic wrapped up.
jason blew a fuckin' gasket over the dumbest thing and it's completely embarrassing. who in their right mind would work for that guy? does anyone actually wonder why nick is the press darling?? well the proof is all right here. i'd say "shocking" but the fact that jason is completely out of touch with reality isn't news. there is no room in the blog community for someone like him. he is making a joke of and devaluing the entire space.
OMFG. You're all insane. Look closely here. Is any of this real? Take a closer look above. Note the following:
1. Looks like it's spoofed, which can be done easily. That is, unless I go look on Calacanis' site in 5 minutes and see a posted rebuttal there... in which case it's all real. But in case that it's not, what a terrific prank. I'm 90% sure. Good to go along with the spoofed Nicky Hilton nudes on Fleshbot today.
2. Okay, so let's say that it is real. Somewhat embarrassing on behalf of both authors. Presumptuousness and ego are abound, which is a big reason why I think it's a spoof... reminiscent of the Young Manhattanite Interview of Amanda Hesser on April Fools' Day. I missed the part earlier where Jake said something (now deleted) about Jason's mother. I'm waiting for the part where Calacanis says "Hey Jake, stop talking about my mother and I'll get off yours!"
One positive note: yes, Jen is talented indeed. Glad we all agree on that.
...you don't talk about people's mothers and wives in Brooklyn--not if you're smart...
If you're smart, you go to the Bronx.
Hang in there, guys...
I've learned some real key drivers for the blogging business today. When someone takes a jab at your business, don't think about where they're coming from or just ignore it, or respond in a measured way. Don't take your incoherent anger out on say, a pillow or in a rant to an understanding friend. You should act like a huge baby and work yourself into a lather over your hurt feelings, convince yourself it's a personal attack on you and your kin, and then slobber wrathfully all over an IM window -- which as we should all know by now, is the best way to get uncontrolled outbursts into wide circulation. That way, you can start a Blogger War(tm) and hey... maybe out of the deadly fires of conflict will come a new business plan. And some attention.
I remember when people in online publishing regarded Calcanis as a basically sane if hype-prone business journalist/entrepreneur. The degeneration of the internet continues?
Holy christ! When did Calacanis start channeling Harvey Weinstein, with a little ghetto-twinkie lingo thrown in for "flava"? I'll take the British imperiousness of The Denton any day.
I retract my original theory, add the following:
60% sure that this is real
40% thinking it's all a joke.
or maybe 70%/30%. 80%/20%. Going once, going twice...
(Note: this is like two kids in prep school having an editor's war in their own self-published student newsletters. 3 o'clock in the parking lot, punk!)
sadly, it is all 100% accurate- about an hour later he signed back on, and after some similar stuff, we offered to apologize.
wait, so, there isn't going to be a crack baby weblog?
Oh, and for reading this whole page - am I more pathetic or less pathetic than this Weblogs Incorporated fellow?
"you don't talk about people's mothers and wives in Brooklyn--not if you're smart."
Ok, but that is the greatest sentence in the world. Thanks Gothamist for turning me onto the joys of this nutcase!
Bay Ridge in da haus!
Well, the Gothamist crew has been a tad mean-spirited as of recently. Much like sports kid Tien Mao's Nancy Reagan rant...
http://www.tienmao.com/archives/001096.html
this may have been taken more seriously than it was intended. Gothamist is not as snark-tastic as Defamer or Gawker - so it is tough to know when you are kidding.
I'll read that baby blog if they include recipes for cooking the little critters when you get tired of the feed-clean rollercoaster.
And the crack babies shouldn't need much salt!
i have to agree that the line about not talking about brooklyn mothers and wives has to be the funniest unintentional thing i've ever read. what part of brooklyn is he from?? crazyshitsville? and isn't jake from brooklyn too? just checking.
quick, someone register mamacalacanis.com!!
i lived in brooklyn until i was 21- with breaks for college. after that, i moved to manhattan. that gives me some authority on brooklyn, but i think it's vulgar to use the name as a basis for making threats: "in brooklyn, talk like that gets you cut, yo!"
Thing thing I don't understand about that Jason moron wanting a public apology is that no one GIVES A SHIT who he his, so why would he care about his reputation? I mean, the guy's business is frickin' blogs, wtf? He's not splitting the atom. He's just some moron, wannabe businessman, who think looking and acting slick and "working hard" (ie, talking alot) will make him successful. Eat shit and die Jason Can't-Remember-Your-Last-Name, you give American business a bad name. Go get a job at McDonald's and make yourself useful to society.
a (semi) public figure ought to be a little bit less of a cryass in this day and age, no?
I'm most disappointed with the quality of the IM invective, particularly in light of the fact that JC self-identifies as someone who might ever be the subject of "playa hating"
Yeah, look out, man. Don't let anybody snatch ya chain, son!
Jackass
me thinks it more prop to say:
"... gits you cut", rather than "gets you cut"
Where are you from again?
Well, after seeing Jason's IM transcript, at least we now know where the majority of Craigslist 'rants and raves' postings come from.
To be fair - I offer as counterpoint that, while this whole thing is ridiculous, some people are very defensive of their loved ones. My boyfriend is the nicest guy in the world but someone insulted me publicly once and, well, he wanted to physically injure the guy who made the insult. Some things are just off limits. That being said, dude, chill out - it's a damn website.
I shook Jason's hand once, but then I made sure to count my fingers.
He's also a little too sensitive - he should pull that stick out of his silicon alley.
what
a
fucking
loser.
get a grip crybaby
PS. What happened to the "McCabe"? Did he go back to his maiden name?
It goes on.
> > > Jasoncalacanis signed off at 1:23:06 PM.
> > > Jake Dobkin: ouch
> > > Previous message was not received by Jasoncalacanis
> > > because of error: User
> > > Jasoncalacanis is not available.
> > >
> > > Jasoncalacanis: nice to take this out, but too
> > > little too late
> > > Jasoncalacanis: Perhaps its the
> > > difficulty of finding great writers to write about
> > > things like lactation.
> > > Already, Jason has tapped his mother, friends, wives
> > > of friends, etc. Surely
> > > not all of these people were born to be great
> > > bloggers.
> > > Jake Dobkin: you asked me to take it out, so i took
> > > it out- obviously we like
> > > you very much, and we didn't want to send you
> > > through the ceiling
> > > Jasoncalacanis: i told you to apologise
> > > Jake Dobkin: but the name calling was totally messed
> > > up- i mean, really, jason-
> > > that was just mean
> > > Jake Dobkin: we've always been nothing but
> > > respectful to you, and reading
> > > through this post, i see nothing different
> > > Jake Dobkin: so calling me fifteen different curse
> > > words is just totally unfair
> > > Jasoncalacanis signed off at 2:14:47 PM.
> > > Jasoncalacanis signed on at 2:15:05 PM.
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you can post these IMs, i don't care
> > > Jasoncalacanis: if you had any level of respect for
> > > me
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you would a) not write something so
> > > personally hateful
> > > Jake Dobkin: it's not personally hateful, and i
> > > didn't post the IMs
> > > Jasoncalacanis: b) you apologize for saying
> > > insulting things about my mother
> > > and brian's wife
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you just put them up
> > > Jasoncalacanis: they are on the comments
> > > Jake Dobkin: let me check
> > > Jasoncalacanis: either that or you sent them to
> > > someone who put themup
> > > Jake Dobkin: shit- someone on the staff email put
> > > that up- i just sent it out
> > > to warn them that you were angry
> > > Jake Dobkin: do you want me to delete it? because i
> > > will
> > > Jasoncalacanis: Jake, I don't give a shit what you
> > > do at this point.
> > > Jasoncalacanis: You can apologize in a serious adult
> > > way
> > > Jasoncalacanis: with none of this snarky blog
> > > bullshit
> > > Jasoncalacanis: and be a man
> > > Jasoncalacanis: or you can go fuck yourself
> > > Jasoncalacanis: as far as I'm concerned
> > > Jasoncalacanis: You want to go to war.. we can do
> > > that too.
> > > Jasoncalacanis: but it wont be much of a battle i
> > > can tell you that
> > > Jake Dobkin: jeez- seriously, relax.
> > > Jasoncalacanis: fuck you relax
> > > Jasoncalacanis: how about i start posting shit about
> > > your mom
> > > Jasoncalacanis: and jen's mom
> > > Jasoncalacanis: and jen's boyfriend
> > > Jasoncalacanis: and your girlfriend/stalking
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you want to take it to that level?
> > > Jasoncalacanis: well, you already have
> > > Jasoncalacanis: wake up Jake.. be a man
> > > Jake Dobkin: jason, what sort of apology do you
> > > want?
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you fucked up
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you what you need to do.
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you fucked up, be man and do what
> > > you got to do
> > > Jake Dobkin: what does that mean? are you seriously
> > > threatening me? over a blog
> > > post?
> > > Jasoncalacanis: i dont have to theaten you
> > > Jake Dobkin: but you are
> > > Jasoncalacanis: but trust me you don't want to
> > > compete with me
> > > Jasoncalacanis: and you don't want to say shit about
> > > my mother
> > > Jake Dobkin: jason, no one meant that as an insult
> > > to your mother
> > > Jasoncalacanis: or my partners wife
> > > Jasoncalacanis: bro, yuo put thatshit under quality
> > > Jake Dobkin: or her- we wrote it as a funny, snarky
> > > post- and i think that's
> > > how everyone read it
> > > Jasoncalacanis: my mom as you example of us having
> > > quality problems
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you know what jake
> > > Jasoncalacanis: that is the problem
> > > Jake Dobkin: when you read it that way, i took it
> > > out- because obviously, we
> > > didn't want it read like that
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you think it is just funny to take
> > > down someones mother
> > > Jasoncalacanis: or someones wife
> > > Jake Dobkin: obviously not
> > > Jasoncalacanis: well, you need to grow up
> > > Jake Dobkin: i mean, really jason, don't you think a
> > > little bit more of us?
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you call yourself a publisher?
> > > Jasoncalacanis: i dont think much of you at this
> > > point
> > > Jake Dobkin: again, that's pretty messed up
> > > Jasoncalacanis: professionally peopl;e dont bring up
> > > wives and mothers
> > > Jasoncalacanis: your bed sleep in it
> > > Jasoncalacanis: own your words.
> > > Jasoncalacanis: put your words back in
> > > Jasoncalacanis: and apologize
> > > Jasoncalacanis: if you're man enough to take it out
> > > Jasoncalacanis: post to the top level why you did
> > > and if you regret it and if
> > > you apologize
> > > Jasoncalacanis: but frankly i dont think you
> > > Jasoncalacanis: even know why it is wrong
> > > Jasoncalacanis: whiuch is sad
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you want me to talk about your mom?
> > > Jasoncalacanis: your girlfreind?
> > > Jasoncalacanis: jen's parents?
> > > Jasoncalacanis: jen
> > > Jasoncalacanis: s boyfriend?
> > > Jake Dobkin: how about this: i offer you my
> > > sincerest apologies for you taking
> > > it the wrong way, and we post this IM- where i think
> > > you make the point that i
> > > messed up
> > > Jasoncalacanis: asshole
> > > Jasoncalacanis: apologies for me taking the wrong
> > > way?!?!!?
> > > Jasoncalacanis: how about apologies because you
> > > wrote something highly
> > > inapproraite and you let your snarky blog attitude
> > > take you a personal place
> > > oyu shouldn't hve gone
> > > Jasoncalacanis: and that you don't think it is
> > > approraite for people to be
> > > talking about other people's mothers and wives on
> > > their blog
> > > Jasoncalacanis: and you wouldnt want anyone to talk
> > > about your mother or Jens
> > > Jake Dobkin: obviously we didn't mean it like that
> > > Jasoncalacanis: how about something real
> > > Jasoncalacanis: dude
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you said it, own it
> > > Jasoncalacanis: stop being kid start acting like a
> > > man
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you're a publisher
> > > Jasoncalacanis: the publisher has to set the example
> > > Jasoncalacanis: what kind of exmple are you setting?
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you're destroying Gothamist with
> > > your playa hating rnats
> > > Jasoncalacanis: and getting personal with peopel's
> > > mothers and wives is over
> > > the top
> > > Jake Dobkin: listen, jason, you are really taking
> > > this way, way, way too far
> > > Jasoncalacanis: do what you want jake, but i hope
> > > you dont think i'm some sort
> > > of push over....
> > > Jasoncalacanis: amd o
> > > Jasoncalacanis: i'm ging to sit here and have yousay
> > > shit about my mother and
> > > brian's wife laying down like a dog
> > > Jake Dobkin: we were just poking a little fun at
> > > you, and asking some obvious
> > > questions about the biz- you could easily do the
> > > same post about me, or jen,
> > > and we'd know you were doing it with a good heart
> > > Jasoncalacanis: i'm from brooklyn kid... we don't
> > > say shit about people's
> > > mothers/wives
> > > Jake Dobkin: jason, i'm also from brooklyn!
> > > Jake Dobkin: you know that
> > > Jasoncalacanis: bro, that is the differnece between
> > > me and you
> > > Jasoncalacanis: i would never post about yourparents
> > > Jasoncalacanis: or your significant other
> > > Jasoncalacanis: or jens
> > > Jasoncalacanis: go take a wlak
> > > Jasoncalacanis: walk
> > > Jasoncalacanis: look in a mirror
> > > Jasoncalacanis: and ask youself if you're the type
> > > of publisher/person
> > > Jasoncalacanis: who writes insults about
> > > Jasoncalacanis: people's mothers/wives
> > > Jake Dobkin: obviously we aren't, which you know
> > > Jasoncalacanis: really.
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you did
> > > Jasoncalacanis: so, youneed to look deep inside kid
> > > Jake Dobkin: as soon as you objected, i took right
> > > out
> > > Jasoncalacanis: i've never, in 10 years of
> > > publishing,
> > > Jasoncalacanis: had anyone say anything like that
> > > Jasoncalacanis: never
> > > Jake Dobkin: you've been calling me names for a half
> > > hour
> > > Jake Dobkin: which are much, much, much worse than
> > > anything in that post
> > > Jasoncalacanis: a) in private over IM
> > > Jake Dobkin: by a thousand times- where do you stand
> > > on that?
> > > Jasoncalacanis: b) after you said shit about my
> > > mother
> > > Jasoncalacanis: i cant give you an example of any
> > > publisher ever doing anything
> > > like this
> > > Jasoncalacanis: i've never seen any publisher say
> > > somethingabout someones wife
> > > or mother
> > > Jasoncalacanis: never
> > > Jasoncalacanis: anyway, you know best jake
> > > Jasoncalacanis: go take your walk
> > > Jasoncalacanis: and think about who you want to be
> > > in life
> > > Jasoncalacanis: and how you want to relate to people
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you give what you get in life
> > > Jasoncalacanis: and if you want to give this stuff
> > > out be ready for that to be
> > > your life
> > > Jasoncalacanis: your behavior
> > > Jasoncalacanis: doesnt match who you are
> > > Jasoncalacanis: you should correct that
> > > Jasoncalacanis: i dont hink you're a bad person
> > > Jasoncalacanis: and actually before this iwas fond
> > > of you
> > > Jasoncalacanis: but this is so over the top that i'm
> > > realy rethinking who you
> > > are
> > > Jake Dobkin: that's why it's so startling that on
> > > the drop of a hat you are
> > > willing to say such horrible things
> > > Jasoncalacanis: and the ten people i've taked to
> > > about this are shocked
> > > Jasoncalacanis: at what you wrote
> > > Jasoncalacanis: and these are people we both know
> > > Jake Dobkin: and the 50 people i've talked to are
> > > shocked at how you took it
> > > Jasoncalacanis: dude
> > > Jasoncalacanis: i'm going easy on you
> > > Jake Dobkin: no, you really aren't
> > > Jasoncalacanis: well go take your walk kid and
> > > decide how you want to handle it.
> > > Jasoncalacanis: like man or a kid
> > > Jake Dobkin: one public apology coming up
> > > Jake Dobkin: this is what we are going to put up
> > > Jake Dobkin: :
> > > Jake Dobkin: Jason Calacanis has asked me apologize
> > > to him in public for the
> > > post we put up earlier in the day. When we wrote
> > > the post, it was meant to be
> > > light hearted- poking fun at Jason's latest blog and
> > > asking some obvious
> > > questions about Weblogsinc. When we tipped him off
> > > to the post, Jason got very
> > > upset, and especially objected to a line where we
> > > jokingly questioned his
> > > decisions about staffing. We joked that he had
> > > hired his mother and friends to
> > > staff his blogs, and that neopotism is probably not
> > > the best way to guarantee
> > > great blog talent. When Jason got upset, we took out
> > > the offending line, which
> > > he preserved in the comments. We also softed some
> > > of the adjectives in the
> > > third and fourth paragraphs, because we wanted to
> > > make it clear that the tone
> > > was playful, and not mean. I forwarded the IM
> > > transcript of our conversation
> > > to the Gothamist staff, to tip them off that Jason
> > > was angry. That email got
> > > sent around a little bit, which was not my
> > > intention.
> > >
> > > So, to Jason, a large public apology: we apologize
> > > that our tone or anything we
> > > wrote in the post was hurtful to you. Obviously,
> > > Gothamist has the greatest
> > > respect for you, your mother, and all the men and
> > > women who work for Weblogsinc.
> > > Jake Dobkin: i'm also going to put in a picture of
> > > you next to the post so
> > > people know who we are talking about
> > > Jasoncalacanis: i think it isfine
> > > Jasoncalacanis: but you shouldnt say i asked for you
> > > to apologize
> > > Jasoncalacanis: that is sort of like saying i'm
> > > forcing you to
> > > Jasoncalacanis: i dont want you to do this because i
> > > told you to
> > > Jake Dobkin: how about "Jason Calacanis deserves an
> > > apology"
> > > Jasoncalacanis: that is approraite
> > > Jasoncalacanis: good man
Jake,
You can NOT apologize after that kind of exchange. I don't care if you have to photblog his leathersex parties, just take that bitch down!
Remove your apology and replace it with a nice graphic of JMC with his head up his own ass.
He has mental issues if he thinks he can make his family into bloggers (writers on the INTERNET) and they will remain immune from criticism.
PPS. Jason, Gothamist, like Andre the Giant, has a posse. Shut your mouth and OBEY.
I love this, it has all the irrationality of something written by a character on Melrose Place.