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I think I would have become one of the top 10 tech journalists ever if I had not been cursed with being a CEO/founder. Sometimes I wish I was still a journalis

I think I would have become one of the top 10 tech journalists ever if I had not been cursed with being a CEO/founder. Sometimes I wish I was still a journalist.

brandnewlow 17y ago
I don't doubt that at all. Founding a business exposes you to very real pain points that someone who hasn't run a business might not think to ask about. Since my transition from journalism to entrepreneur/sometime-journalist, I've often wondered why on earth people listen to business journalists who've never started or managed a business of their own. How could they possibly write with authority if they haven't been through this themselves?
- jasonmcalacanis 17y ago
  This is a fair point.... when you start running businesses you start realizing how little journalists really understand the industry you're actually in and how it works. There are exceptions like John Markoff from the New York Times, Peter Rojas of Engadget/GDGT, Kara Swisher, Walt Mossberg, Henry Blodget and Michael Arrington. all of those folks have deep knowledge... many other folks are simply rewriting press releases.
  - btilly 17y ago
    It doesn't have to be businesses. When you learn the truth about anything that is commonly reported, you learn how shallow the reporting on it is. That is true whether you're gaining a deep knowledge of science, politics, a particular celebrity, or anything else you see in the news. But if you think that reporters in general are bad, wait until you see a "documentary" on it. Hollywood's attitude is, "If we don't know the difference then our audience won't either." It shows.
jackowayed 17y ago
And you wonder why people hate you. "I could have been one of the best ever if I weren't cursed with having to make millions of dollars." It sounds so cocky. I actually don't hate you (When I first heard of you, I asked a friend of mine "Is this guy a dick, totally awesome, or both?" and I still think "both" is a pretty good way to describe you, so you could say I'm split.), but I hope you see why people do.
- jasonmcalacanis 17y ago
  Why would I care if people hate me because I'm honest? I can tell you I would have been one of the worst NBA players of all time and one of the best business journalists of all time with a straight face... because both statements are true. rock on
  - jackowayed 17y ago
    Simply saying that would have been ok--a little cocky, but excusable in my book--were it not immediately followed by your statement that you were "cursed with being a CEO/founder." If you really wanted to realize your potential as a tech journalist, you could have. No one forced you to start companies. Saying that you're "cursed" by achieving one of the top goals of half of the people here (having a wildly successful startup)--and becoming orders of magnitude richer than the average person because of it--isn't going to help with all of those "haters" who downvote half of your comments to -4.
    - wooster 17y ago
      I'm pretty sure that was meant to be humorous.
- petercooper 17y ago
  but I hope you see why people do. And like Jobs, Gates, Ellison, Branson, or whoever, I hope he doesn't care if random people on the Internet think he's arrogant or is a "dick." You don't get to even Jason's level by dwelling on this (or, at least, showing it in public). That aside, if Jason had a ton of time to dump into being a "top tech journalist", would he be up against really serious competition? Cringely? Mossberg? Scoble? Arrington? All awesome in their own ways but the gamut of skill in that game is pretty thin.

I think I would have become one of the top 10 tech journalists ever if I had not been cursed with being a CEO/founder. Sometimes I wish I was still a journalist.

brandnewlow 17y ago

I don't doubt that at all. Founding a business exposes you to very real pain points that someone who hasn't run a business might not think to ask about. Since my transition from journalism to entrepreneur/sometime-journalist, I've often wondered why on earth people listen to business journalists who've never started or managed a business of their own. How could they possibly write with authority if they haven't been through this themselves?

jasonmcalacanis 17y ago
This is a fair point.... when you start running businesses you start realizing how little journalists really understand the industry you're actually in and how it works. There are exceptions like John Markoff from the New York Times, Peter Rojas of Engadget/GDGT, Kara Swisher, Walt Mossberg, Henry Blodget and Michael Arrington. all of those folks have deep knowledge... many other folks are simply rewriting press releases.
- btilly 17y ago
  It doesn't have to be businesses. When you learn the truth about anything that is commonly reported, you learn how shallow the reporting on it is. That is true whether you're gaining a deep knowledge of science, politics, a particular celebrity, or anything else you see in the news. But if you think that reporters in general are bad, wait until you see a "documentary" on it. Hollywood's attitude is, "If we don't know the difference then our audience won't either." It shows.

jackowayed 17y ago

And you wonder why people hate you. "I could have been one of the best ever if I weren't cursed with having to make millions of dollars." It sounds so cocky. I actually don't hate you (When I first heard of you, I asked a friend of mine "Is this guy a dick, totally awesome, or both?" and I still think "both" is a pretty good way to describe you, so you could say I'm split.), but I hope you see why people do.

jasonmcalacanis 17y ago
Why would I care if people hate me because I'm honest? I can tell you I would have been one of the worst NBA players of all time and one of the best business journalists of all time with a straight face... because both statements are true. rock on
- jackowayed 17y ago
  Simply saying that would have been ok--a little cocky, but excusable in my book--were it not immediately followed by your statement that you were "cursed with being a CEO/founder." If you really wanted to realize your potential as a tech journalist, you could have. No one forced you to start companies. Saying that you're "cursed" by achieving one of the top goals of half of the people here (having a wildly successful startup)--and becoming orders of magnitude richer than the average person because of it--isn't going to help with all of those "haters" who downvote half of your comments to -4.
  - wooster 17y ago
    I'm pretty sure that was meant to be humorous.
petercooper 17y ago
but I hope you see why people do. And like Jobs, Gates, Ellison, Branson, or whoever, I hope he doesn't care if random people on the Internet think he's arrogant or is a "dick." You don't get to even Jason's level by dwelling on this (or, at least, showing it in public). That aside, if Jason had a ton of time to dump into being a "top tech journalist", would he be up against really serious competition? Cringely? Mossberg? Scoble? Arrington? All awesome in their own ways but the gamut of skill in that game is pretty thin.