Michael Arrington to leave TechCrunch

This actually sucks. After being spit on, Michael Arrington is taking a leave of absence from TechCrunch. Good for him. He continues to tell of his experience of being stalked this past year. No one deserves this. Have a margarita on us and toss away the iPhone, Michael. PS. Crazy People, stop being so damn crazy.

Yesterday as I was leaving the DLD Conference in Munich, Germany someone walked up to me and quite deliberately spat in my face. Before I even understood what was happening, he veered off into the crowd, just another dark head in a dark suit. People around me stared, then looked away and continued their conversation. – from Techcrunch

Here’s buzz from the Interwebs:

Granted, Arrington is not the kind of blogger you’d describe as “nice.” I met him once, at a three-day conference last summer. He was cordial, but hard — the kind of person you’re careful approaching because he seems immune to a smile. As for his writing, it’s sometimes cold, personal, provocative and sometimes mean — a combination writers wrap up in the word “snark.” In the opinion of Eric Lundquist at Computerworld, that’s enough to lay at least some of the blame for Arrington’s predicament on Arrington himself. – from Seattle

What is different about Arrington is his uniquely influential position in the technology space. He has a controversial reputation, with persistent claims by rivals and disgruntled entrepreneurs – despite his frequent disclaimers on posts – about conflicts between his own investments and the companies he writes about. – from Guardian

Arrington, for a reason no one has ever pinpointed, attracts haters at a level far beyond what you’d expect for what is basically an online trade magazine. I learned this firsthand when I wrote for gossip site Valleywag from 2006 to 2008. Despite Valleywag’s cruel, personal posts, we received almost no hate mail and were never accosted in public. Instead, we got mail, phone calls and in-person pleas from people who begged us to take down Mike Arrington. The most common accusation was that TechCrunch sold endorsements of startups, either in exchange for advertising buys on the site, or for outright cash payments. – from The Standard