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Could someone tell me more about this Jason Calacanis fellow. He seems to be a very polarizing figure on this site. Really all I know is that he seemed to have

by S_A_P 16y ago

Could someone tell me more about this Jason Calacanis fellow. He seems to be a very polarizing figure on this site. Really all I know is that he seemed to have a falling out with Michael Arrington and alot of articles seem to mention him in a slightly negative light. Is there some reason for this, and no I'm not trying to troll.

arnorhs 16y ago
You should check out some of his shows on http://thisweekin.com/thisweekin-startups/ http://thisweekin.com/thisweekin-startups/ - you can get a sense of who he is from watching a few. The general consensus on HN is that he doesn't treat people well or is somehow not very "honest". Personally, I'm a big fan. I watch every episode and I generally agree with most of what he says.
- rokhayakebe 16y ago
  I agree. He just seems brutally honest, and that gets him in trouble. But hate him or love him, the guy does a great job with TWIST. I do not use Mahalo, so I cannot speak for it.
  - arnorhs 16y ago
    Same here. I don't even remember ending up on a Mahalo search results page, come to think of it.
    - rhizome 16y ago
      Like you, I know Mahalo mostly from knowing about it and skipping past their entries in Google results, but I wouldn't doubt that these kinds of sites enjoy a lot of clicks from people who just don't know English or the Internet very well. Understandable words are understandable words. The problems people have with Mahalo and their ilk are unimportant to 90% of the people on the Internet. Many are perfectly comfortable typing "how to cross street?" into google or their isp homepage and clicking the top link. Boom: business model.
  - mypityforyou 16y ago
    He's honest, except when he's talking about himself or his ventures. Then he's brutally and completely dishonest. He gets no respect from me. It saddens me that he's conned you into thinking he's a decent man. You really are a fool in this game. He laughs at dipshits like you. Literally. He actually makes fun of you for watching TWIST.
- gojomo 16y ago
  I don't think it's possible to assess a 'general consensus' on almost anything here. There are themes, they recur disproportionately on certain threads, but do most commenters (much less readers) agree on a position, even if it is oft/loudly expressed? Hard to say anything more than 'many' or 'loud' people have an opinion.
- Dramatize 16y ago
  If your're new to startups, the early Thisweekin Startups shows have really useful tips on pitching etc.
- mixmastamyk 16y ago
  Agreed. I found him annoying when I first encountered him on TWIT (wouldn't shut up about Twitter), but after viewing a few dozen episodes of TWIST would welcome him into my home like a brother.
- mothaiba 16y ago
  Judging by the positive sentiment in these comments for TWIST and Launch - and AOL's acquisition of TechCrunch (Read: Once MA jumps, they won't be able to sustain content and traffic) - there may be a lot of good opportunities ahead for JC.
ZachPruckowski 16y ago
He was an early Web 1.0 entrepreneur who founded Silicon Alley Reporter (which failed) and Weblogs, Inc (which got bought out by AOL). He's sort of a "startup celebrity" in the sense that he's (a) opinionated and (b) good at getting those opinions into people's faces. He's involved in a wide range of stuff in the startup-support ecosystem, and he's also the founder of Mahalo. He describes Mahalo as "people-powered search", as in you search for something on Mahalo and you get a professionally written page, but detractors think he's about one step removed from a content farm.
- mvandemar 16y ago
  Not sure where you get the "one step removed" bit. It is a content farm, at least in the places where it isn't simply copies of Wikipedia or autogenerated text.
- billmcneale 16y ago
  These detractors seem to be on to something since Mahalo just laid off 10% of its workforce right after Google acted against content farmers. That does say something about the content that Mahalo produces, doesn't it?
nnutter 16y ago
If only there wasn't some sort of machine that indexed a vast electronic knowledge base... And no I'm not trying to troll. OK, you got me.
ihodes 16y ago
Mahalo is equated with spam in the eyes of many HNers (including me), and JC is seen as the promoter of said spam. EDIT: Why the hell is this getting so many upvotes? Because it's easier to read? Upvote, instead, some of the comments with actual fucking content. EDIT2: Also, while I think (much of) Mahalo is spam, I respect Jason and his business, and wish him the best of luck.
- mypityforyou 16y ago
  > I respect Jason and his business, and wish him the best of luck. Serious question: why would you respect him or his shitty spam farm? He's an abrasive, ignorant, no-talent douchebag who doesn't care the first thing about delivering actual value. Fuck him. I hope the VCs of the world wake up and realize the only reason he has any money is because AOL was staffed by morons.
- endtime 16y ago
  >Why the hell is this getting so many upvotes? Concision is valuable.
  - ehsanul 16y ago
    You made me look this up. *Is it "concision" or "conciseness" - http://raymondpward.typepad.com/rainman2/2005/11/is_it_concisene.html http://raymondpward.typepad.com/rainman2/2005/11/is_it_conci...
    - endtime 16y ago
      I prefer the relative concision of "concision" (9 chars vs. 11). Eh, that's my cute answer. I really just think "conciseness" sounds awkward.
rokhayakebe 16y ago
The guy is just controversial. He pretty much says what people think and do not say. Jason sounds rude lots of time, and I think people here have a problem with that and his Mahalo which they refer to as a content farm. Now with all this being said, you have to respect the guy. He has built and sold businesses (so he actually knows something). He tells it to you like he sees it. That gets my vote all the time. I watch all his shows at TWIST and he does a neat job at giving constructive feedback to entrepreneurs. I frankly think that he likes to act tougher than he really is. This is just his defense mechanism.
bigwally 16y ago
First impressions count for a lot. A lot of people may have seen the name of Jason Calacanis prior to his falling out with Michael Arrington but the name did not stick. When there is malicious gossip people pay attention to the name. First impressions count. Disclaimer: I couldn't care less about Arrington or Calacanis.
shuri 16y ago
He seems to be doing a lot of good stuff: http://thisweekin.com http://thisweekin.com , the launch conference http://launch.is http://launch.is , http://openangelforum.com/ http://openangelforum.com/
cabinguy 16y ago
I don't know Jason Calacanis, but I get a couple of things out of this. (and yea, I know my two main points are contradictive) 1. Mahalo is blowing in the wind. I have no idea what Mahalo is or what Calacanis wants it to be. SEOing the hell out of near-worthless content is not a long-term strategy. If you want to win - solve a problem! 2. Jason Calacanis is an excellent executive. This Google algo change took place on Fri/Sat. By Tuesday this guy made the huge, painful, most difficult call in the world and laid off 10% of his company. If you have ever had to lay people off - you know what I mean. It is hard, it is painful, it is life changing. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I understand that the employee takes the blunt of the blow - but believe me, being on the other side of the table is not a desirable place to be. I know this is not a popular stance on HN, but I have a lot of respect for Calacanis. The guy has done so much for the start up community. TWiST is some of the most valuable content I have found on the web and The Launch Conference - if it hasn't already - will change the startup conference scene forever. Not to mention his home brewed angel network that tilts the table in favor of entrepreneurs. Calacanis is a hell of a self-promoter - but even if he rubs you the wrong way - you should respect what he has been able to do. If you have been (or were) on 60 minutes talking about internet startups...in your 20's...feel free to rip him apart. If not, show a little respect for what he has done and little empathy for what the guy just had to do.
- staunch 16y ago
  NEGATIVE: 1) Jason and Mahalo are over. Their new strategy is very expensive and a multi-year road before it's a real business. It's a total rewrite, not a pivot by any means, if they do it well. No way Calacanis lasts a few more years at Mahalo (even if the board doesn't push him out). 2) Calacanis isn't really in charge at Mahalo AFAIK. The employees all report to Jason Rapp. Rapp and the board probably made the decision to layoff, though Calacanis was probably involved. He's being allowed to save face and ego. His role is more of a spokesperson than a CEO. I think Calacanis simply can't force himself to do what it takes to make Mahalo successful because he's already rich. He's referred to Mahalo as "freeroll" meaning that even if it fails he's still rich. That kind of attitude is fine for getting things you love done, but it doesn't work when you're trying to do something you're not innately passionate about. He doesn't have the hunger (nor would almost anyone) to make Mahalo the kind of success it needs to be to justify its investment. Paul Graham has said many times that he wouldn't start another startup because it's just too painful and he knows he couldn't stomach it now that he doesn't have the incentive he did before (to get rich). I don't think there's anything wrong with this. It's natural human behavior to respond to incentives. I think when Calacanis finally realizes (or admits) this he'll be a much happier (if ego-bruised) guy. POSITIVE: Calacanis is unbelievably awesome when he's doing things he's passion about. TWiST and LAUNCH are flawless. He's the target demographic for the content himself and it shows. He should turn LAUNCH newsletter into a head-to-head blog competitor to TechCrunch. Combined with TWiST and LAUNCH conference it really could become as influential and big as TC is. He's got a ton of talent and energy, but I think Mahalo really drags him down. If he removed that burden he'd be able to do something truly amazing and big. tl;dr: If you're already rich don't try to do things that you aren't genuinely passionate about, your subconscious will prevent you from doing what it takes to succeed that way. Stick to things you don't have to force yourself to do and are naturally good at.
mixmastamyk 16y ago
No one kicks a dead dog.
- mixmastamyk 16y ago
  Odd this was modded down. I think there are no Dale Carnegie fans around that understand the reference.
tuhin 16y ago
Just a guy who knows a lot about startups and entrepreneurship but is sometimes too blunt and on the face. People who know this nature of his, have grown immune to his antics and direct remarks and keep in touch because of his genuine wit. Who else would be crazy yet believable enough to fool the world he was actually testing the iPad before launch. That's Jason for you.
bootload 16y ago
"... Could someone tell me more about this Jason Calacanis fellow. ..." If you listen to others explain who Calcanis is you'll get what people think he is. Instead listen to this interview (and read the show notes), on Stack Overflow podcast, "Podcast #56 Jeff Atwood" ~ http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2009/06/podcast-56/ http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2009/06/podcast-56/ He came across as smart, funny and determined. It's his determination that struck me the most.

by S_A_P 16y ago

arnorhs 16y ago

You should check out some of his shows on http://thisweekin.com/thisweekin-startups/ http://thisweekin.com/thisweekin-startups/ - you can get a sense of who he is from watching a few. The general consensus on HN is that he doesn't treat people well or is somehow not very "honest". Personally, I'm a big fan. I watch every episode and I generally agree with most of what he says.

rokhayakebe 16y ago
I agree. He just seems brutally honest, and that gets him in trouble. But hate him or love him, the guy does a great job with TWIST. I do not use Mahalo, so I cannot speak for it.
- arnorhs 16y ago
  Same here. I don't even remember ending up on a Mahalo search results page, come to think of it.
  - rhizome 16y ago
    Like you, I know Mahalo mostly from knowing about it and skipping past their entries in Google results, but I wouldn't doubt that these kinds of sites enjoy a lot of clicks from people who just don't know English or the Internet very well. Understandable words are understandable words. The problems people have with Mahalo and their ilk are unimportant to 90% of the people on the Internet. Many are perfectly comfortable typing "how to cross street?" into google or their isp homepage and clicking the top link. Boom: business model.
- mypityforyou 16y ago
  He's honest, except when he's talking about himself or his ventures. Then he's brutally and completely dishonest. He gets no respect from me. It saddens me that he's conned you into thinking he's a decent man. You really are a fool in this game. He laughs at dipshits like you. Literally. He actually makes fun of you for watching TWIST.
gojomo 16y ago
I don't think it's possible to assess a 'general consensus' on almost anything here. There are themes, they recur disproportionately on certain threads, but do most commenters (much less readers) agree on a position, even if it is oft/loudly expressed? Hard to say anything more than 'many' or 'loud' people have an opinion.
Dramatize 16y ago
If your're new to startups, the early Thisweekin Startups shows have really useful tips on pitching etc.
mixmastamyk 16y ago
Agreed. I found him annoying when I first encountered him on TWIT (wouldn't shut up about Twitter), but after viewing a few dozen episodes of TWIST would welcome him into my home like a brother.
mothaiba 16y ago
Judging by the positive sentiment in these comments for TWIST and Launch - and AOL's acquisition of TechCrunch (Read: Once MA jumps, they won't be able to sustain content and traffic) - there may be a lot of good opportunities ahead for JC.

ZachPruckowski 16y ago

He was an early Web 1.0 entrepreneur who founded Silicon Alley Reporter (which failed) and Weblogs, Inc (which got bought out by AOL). He's sort of a "startup celebrity" in the sense that he's (a) opinionated and (b) good at getting those opinions into people's faces. He's involved in a wide range of stuff in the startup-support ecosystem, and he's also the founder of Mahalo. He describes Mahalo as "people-powered search", as in you search for something on Mahalo and you get a professionally written page, but detractors think he's about one step removed from a content farm.

mvandemar 16y ago
Not sure where you get the "one step removed" bit. It is a content farm, at least in the places where it isn't simply copies of Wikipedia or autogenerated text.
billmcneale 16y ago
These detractors seem to be on to something since Mahalo just laid off 10% of its workforce right after Google acted against content farmers. That does say something about the content that Mahalo produces, doesn't it?

nnutter 16y ago

If only there wasn't some sort of machine that indexed a vast electronic knowledge base... And no I'm not trying to troll. OK, you got me.

ihodes 16y ago

Mahalo is equated with spam in the eyes of many HNers (including me), and JC is seen as the promoter of said spam. EDIT: Why the hell is this getting so many upvotes? Because it's easier to read? Upvote, instead, some of the comments with actual fucking content. EDIT2: Also, while I think (much of) Mahalo is spam, I respect Jason and his business, and wish him the best of luck.

mypityforyou 16y ago
> I respect Jason and his business, and wish him the best of luck. Serious question: why would you respect him or his shitty spam farm? He's an abrasive, ignorant, no-talent douchebag who doesn't care the first thing about delivering actual value. Fuck him. I hope the VCs of the world wake up and realize the only reason he has any money is because AOL was staffed by morons.
endtime 16y ago
>Why the hell is this getting so many upvotes? Concision is valuable.
- ehsanul 16y ago
  You made me look this up. *Is it "concision" or "conciseness" - http://raymondpward.typepad.com/rainman2/2005/11/is_it_concisene.html http://raymondpward.typepad.com/rainman2/2005/11/is_it_conci...
  - endtime 16y ago
    I prefer the relative concision of "concision" (9 chars vs. 11). Eh, that's my cute answer. I really just think "conciseness" sounds awkward.

rokhayakebe 16y ago

The guy is just controversial. He pretty much says what people think and do not say. Jason sounds rude lots of time, and I think people here have a problem with that and his Mahalo which they refer to as a content farm. Now with all this being said, you have to respect the guy. He has built and sold businesses (so he actually knows something). He tells it to you like he sees it. That gets my vote all the time. I watch all his shows at TWIST and he does a neat job at giving constructive feedback to entrepreneurs. I frankly think that he likes to act tougher than he really is. This is just his defense mechanism.

bigwally 16y ago

First impressions count for a lot. A lot of people may have seen the name of Jason Calacanis prior to his falling out with Michael Arrington but the name did not stick. When there is malicious gossip people pay attention to the name. First impressions count. Disclaimer: I couldn't care less about Arrington or Calacanis.

shuri 16y ago

He seems to be doing a lot of good stuff: http://thisweekin.com http://thisweekin.com , the launch conference http://launch.is http://launch.is , http://openangelforum.com/ http://openangelforum.com/

cabinguy 16y ago

I don't know Jason Calacanis, but I get a couple of things out of this. (and yea, I know my two main points are contradictive) 1. Mahalo is blowing in the wind. I have no idea what Mahalo is or what Calacanis wants it to be. SEOing the hell out of near-worthless content is not a long-term strategy. If you want to win - solve a problem! 2. Jason Calacanis is an excellent executive. This Google algo change took place on Fri/Sat. By Tuesday this guy made the huge, painful, most difficult call in the world and laid off 10% of his company. If you have ever had to lay people off - you know what I mean. It is hard, it is painful, it is life changing. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I understand that the employee takes the blunt of the blow - but believe me, being on the other side of the table is not a desirable place to be. I know this is not a popular stance on HN, but I have a lot of respect for Calacanis. The guy has done so much for the start up community. TWiST is some of the most valuable content I have found on the web and The Launch Conference - if it hasn't already - will change the startup conference scene forever. Not to mention his home brewed angel network that tilts the table in favor of entrepreneurs. Calacanis is a hell of a self-promoter - but even if he rubs you the wrong way - you should respect what he has been able to do. If you have been (or were) on 60 minutes talking about internet startups...in your 20's...feel free to rip him apart. If not, show a little respect for what he has done and little empathy for what the guy just had to do.

staunch 16y ago
NEGATIVE: 1) Jason and Mahalo are over. Their new strategy is very expensive and a multi-year road before it's a real business. It's a total rewrite, not a pivot by any means, if they do it well. No way Calacanis lasts a few more years at Mahalo (even if the board doesn't push him out). 2) Calacanis isn't really in charge at Mahalo AFAIK. The employees all report to Jason Rapp. Rapp and the board probably made the decision to layoff, though Calacanis was probably involved. He's being allowed to save face and ego. His role is more of a spokesperson than a CEO. I think Calacanis simply can't force himself to do what it takes to make Mahalo successful because he's already rich. He's referred to Mahalo as "freeroll" meaning that even if it fails he's still rich. That kind of attitude is fine for getting things you love done, but it doesn't work when you're trying to do something you're not innately passionate about. He doesn't have the hunger (nor would almost anyone) to make Mahalo the kind of success it needs to be to justify its investment. Paul Graham has said many times that he wouldn't start another startup because it's just too painful and he knows he couldn't stomach it now that he doesn't have the incentive he did before (to get rich). I don't think there's anything wrong with this. It's natural human behavior to respond to incentives. I think when Calacanis finally realizes (or admits) this he'll be a much happier (if ego-bruised) guy. POSITIVE: Calacanis is unbelievably awesome when he's doing things he's passion about. TWiST and LAUNCH are flawless. He's the target demographic for the content himself and it shows. He should turn LAUNCH newsletter into a head-to-head blog competitor to TechCrunch. Combined with TWiST and LAUNCH conference it really could become as influential and big as TC is. He's got a ton of talent and energy, but I think Mahalo really drags him down. If he removed that burden he'd be able to do something truly amazing and big. tl;dr: If you're already rich don't try to do things that you aren't genuinely passionate about, your subconscious will prevent you from doing what it takes to succeed that way. Stick to things you don't have to force yourself to do and are naturally good at.

mixmastamyk 16y ago

No one kicks a dead dog.

mixmastamyk 16y ago
Odd this was modded down. I think there are no Dale Carnegie fans around that understand the reference.

tuhin 16y ago

Just a guy who knows a lot about startups and entrepreneurship but is sometimes too blunt and on the face. People who know this nature of his, have grown immune to his antics and direct remarks and keep in touch because of his genuine wit. Who else would be crazy yet believable enough to fool the world he was actually testing the iPad before launch. That's Jason for you.

bootload 16y ago

"... Could someone tell me more about this Jason Calacanis fellow. ..." If you listen to others explain who Calcanis is you'll get what people think he is. Instead listen to this interview (and read the show notes), on Stack Overflow podcast, "Podcast #56 Jeff Atwood" ~ http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2009/06/podcast-56/ http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2009/06/podcast-56/ He came across as smart, funny and determined. It's his determination that struck me the most.