6 ms·

I have no real interest in either side of this story, and Techcrunch isn't really on my rolodex of sites to read from. That being said, I don't think the origi

I have no real interest in either side of this story, and Techcrunch isn't really on my rolodex of sites to read from. That being said, I don't think the original Techcrunch article was being a bully at all. The fact that she allegedly has gotten away with the simplest of social engineering tactics against a group that most likely thinks of themselves as at least smarter than average, was fairly interesting to me. It shows how easy and effective social engineering can be, even by someone as young as Shirley Hofnstein. All the author appears to write is that they don't like the fact that Techcrunch wrote an article about their friend. It appears that the author of the above article doesn't even defend Shirley Hornstein, which leads me to believe that she was in fact guilty of these acts of social engineering. If that's the case, then it seems like a decent bit of journalism to me. Do I think it's a huge crime? No, it's not like she pulled off a Madoff scam. But was it an interesting article? Yes, and it really points to the fact that we all need to keep on our toes.

samstave 14y ago
While I agree with your not being on a side - my personal opinion is this: Techcrunch was founded and run by a douchebag - thus douchebaggery is in its DNA.
- nameuserc 14y ago
  Unfortunately this is true. I'm not sure all that many people know where the founder came from, i.e., the type of stuff he was doing before TechCrunch, and the company he worked for - a company responsible for a very large portion of some of the purest douchbaggery to be found anywhere on the web. The lowest of the low. They do some very dirty work. I'd even guess there are "innocent" people working at TC who do not know the history. I wanted to see TC as some sort of redemption for this guy, a stepping away from the sort of douchebaggery he was doing previously. But, after watching TC for a number of years, it clearly was a progression to an even more potent form of sleaze. If people are using underhanded tactics with TC, then I can only conclude that they've succeeded in attracting the very same type of people which they are themselves (excluding anyone working there who is naive and unaware).
  - aaronbrethorst 14y ago
    example?
  - uid 14y ago
    what the hell.. this thread is certainly being derailed very quickly. discredit the facts in the story, not the guy who hired the guy who used to run the site or whatever
    - samstave 14y ago
      "...not the guy who hired the guy who used to run the site or whatever" That is why we are referring to the DNA of the company... Meaning that its founder's character sets the tone for the future of the company... This is fact, as founders hire people whom they believe will carry on the traits they themselves want to instill in the company... Arrington, while successful, is a farking douchebag. The whole of techcrunch has followed this from the sensationalism, to the lack of proof/editing, to the very fanboi-ism and game mechanics they have attempted to apply to the stories they write. I rarely frequent TC - when I do, I find typos and grammar mistakes pretty much in every story I see. I think the site is a joke, and the egos abound. Do they get good scoops, sure they do - but they are CONSTANTLY offered excellent opportunity only to fumble and look like fools -- the sad part of that is that too few people actually notice and even fewer hold them to account! TC is successful - but they really should not be.
      - nameuserc 14y ago
        Of course there are people working at TC who are not douchebags. Just like there are probably people working at Pool who are not douchebags. But these are not the founders the company nor those who are responsible for setting the standards and the course for the company.
      - jazzdev 14y ago
        Maybe good scoops are more important than good spelling and grammar.
- bugmenot 14y ago
  "thus douchebaggery is in its DNA" Let's play "name the logical fallacy"
- mikescar 14y ago
  Furthermore, other sites jumping on this story are just as lame. Gawker is also owned and/or staffed by douchebags like Nick Denton and Adrian Chen. It's funny how much Gawker and Adrien in particular have slagged on 'content farms', when in fact they engage in the same SEO game they pretend to be offended by. Check out how many times the phrase 'Silicon Valley' is used in this journalistic gem. http://gawker.com/5938904/notorious-silicon-valley-fraud-shirley-hornstein-is-making-friends-at-gop-convention http://gawker.com/5938904/notorious-silicon-valley-fraud-shi... ( my grep showed 6 counts of 'silicon valley' in the headline + article, with a bonus 'valley' mention. )
- pi18n 14y ago
  It's not even news. The sole purpose of TC is to get traffic for web apps that Arrington and other insiders have a personal stake in.
  - Evbn 14y ago
    And the sole purpose of this site is...
chris_wot 14y ago
As I recently learned to my cost, it doesn't matter how smart you think you are, you can and probably will be deceived by someone eventually.

samstave 14y ago

While I agree with your not being on a side - my personal opinion is this: Techcrunch was founded and run by a douchebag - thus douchebaggery is in its DNA.

nameuserc 14y ago
Unfortunately this is true. I'm not sure all that many people know where the founder came from, i.e., the type of stuff he was doing before TechCrunch, and the company he worked for - a company responsible for a very large portion of some of the purest douchbaggery to be found anywhere on the web. The lowest of the low. They do some very dirty work. I'd even guess there are "innocent" people working at TC who do not know the history. I wanted to see TC as some sort of redemption for this guy, a stepping away from the sort of douchebaggery he was doing previously. But, after watching TC for a number of years, it clearly was a progression to an even more potent form of sleaze. If people are using underhanded tactics with TC, then I can only conclude that they've succeeded in attracting the very same type of people which they are themselves (excluding anyone working there who is naive and unaware).
- aaronbrethorst 14y ago
  example?
- uid 14y ago
  what the hell.. this thread is certainly being derailed very quickly. discredit the facts in the story, not the guy who hired the guy who used to run the site or whatever
  - samstave 14y ago
    "...not the guy who hired the guy who used to run the site or whatever" That is why we are referring to the DNA of the company... Meaning that its founder's character sets the tone for the future of the company... This is fact, as founders hire people whom they believe will carry on the traits they themselves want to instill in the company... Arrington, while successful, is a farking douchebag. The whole of techcrunch has followed this from the sensationalism, to the lack of proof/editing, to the very fanboi-ism and game mechanics they have attempted to apply to the stories they write. I rarely frequent TC - when I do, I find typos and grammar mistakes pretty much in every story I see. I think the site is a joke, and the egos abound. Do they get good scoops, sure they do - but they are CONSTANTLY offered excellent opportunity only to fumble and look like fools -- the sad part of that is that too few people actually notice and even fewer hold them to account! TC is successful - but they really should not be.
    - nameuserc 14y ago
      Of course there are people working at TC who are not douchebags. Just like there are probably people working at Pool who are not douchebags. But these are not the founders the company nor those who are responsible for setting the standards and the course for the company.
    - jazzdev 14y ago
      Maybe good scoops are more important than good spelling and grammar.
bugmenot 14y ago
"thus douchebaggery is in its DNA" Let's play "name the logical fallacy"
mikescar 14y ago
Furthermore, other sites jumping on this story are just as lame. Gawker is also owned and/or staffed by douchebags like Nick Denton and Adrian Chen. It's funny how much Gawker and Adrien in particular have slagged on 'content farms', when in fact they engage in the same SEO game they pretend to be offended by. Check out how many times the phrase 'Silicon Valley' is used in this journalistic gem. http://gawker.com/5938904/notorious-silicon-valley-fraud-shirley-hornstein-is-making-friends-at-gop-convention http://gawker.com/5938904/notorious-silicon-valley-fraud-shi... ( my grep showed 6 counts of 'silicon valley' in the headline + article, with a bonus 'valley' mention. )
pi18n 14y ago
It's not even news. The sole purpose of TC is to get traffic for web apps that Arrington and other insiders have a personal stake in.
- Evbn 14y ago
  And the sole purpose of this site is...

chris_wot 14y ago

As I recently learned to my cost, it doesn't matter how smart you think you are, you can and probably will be deceived by someone eventually.