“Forgetting” To Keynote A Blog Conference? Seriously?
by Tony Hung on November 9, 2007
Update @ 0015h: Looks like there is a better reason than forgetting, and a lot of it has to do with communication errors — mostly, perhaps on BlogExpo’s behalf as like Mike never formally agreed to attend in the first place. Yoinks.
So this afternoon, I was somewhat — nay, overwhelmingly — flabbergasted to read that Mike Arrington wasn’t able to keynote his talk at BlogExpo along with Om Malik, as they were meant to both talk with Leo Laporte on the Cult of Blogging. Om Malik was out with a bad back, and had to cancel a number of appointments recently.
Fine.
But the excuse given by Mr. Arrington?
He forgot.
I mean, I haven’t heard his side of the story yet, but let’s forget for a moment issues like how some people paid good money to fly to Las Vegas, to stay in Vegas, and to actually attend the conference, perhaps to meet someone *like* Mike. Or issues around accountability and respectability.
I mean, the excuse is just *lame*.
I think we’ve all been in the position where someone we’ve depended on couldn’t come in to work. I know I have. My position, however, is that I don’t really care what the excuse is.
Just … please. Make it either believable or entertaining.
For believable ones you could always try being sick. You could even try something specific like “gastroenteritis”, or “acute lower back pain”, or “migraines”, or “the flu” — all things that could lay you out for 24h-48h legitimately. Or, you could cast the “Personal reasons” card. Great blanket statement that could cover all kinds of personal issues, from family things to spouse-related ‘issues’. I find that transportation-related failures are also somewhat plausible. You car breaking down. Flights getting delayed. Bus blowing up. Something plausible like that.
But if you can’t think of anything believable, please — at least make something up that’s somewhat-entertaining.
Don’t say “I forgot”.
Say “Aliens abducted me and after probing me in all kinds of areas they removed my hippocampus. Then, I totally forgot about coming after that. In fact, I can’t remember anything now.”
Or, “I was brutally assaulted by some people I didn’t want to review on TechCrunch, and which resulted in some massive head injuries. I couldn’t remember much after that, and am calling you from the local emergency room.”
I mean, fine. You couldn’t go / didn’t want to go / had better things to do. I get it.
But could we just hear a better excuse next time?
23 comments
I wonder if this excuse will work on my wife? “I forgot” our anniversary.
Um, no, in any context, it doesn’t fly.
Too bad, they missed a f-ing awesome show.
by Jim Kukral on November 9, 2007 at 11:24 pm. #
With respect to that excuse, one saying comes to mind — “that dog won’t hunt.”
And it certainly wouldn’t hunt with my wife either. :)
by Tony Hung on November 9, 2007 at 11:39 pm. #
I won’t spread the rumors or excuses I heard from his colleagues who know him far better than I do. Its not my place to bash someone or spread things I can’t back up.
I will say I fact-checked my own story with the expo founders before I published my article. ;)
by Wendy Piersall on November 10, 2007 at 2:22 am. #
Actually Michael didn’t forget, he never agreed to speak.
by Duncan on November 10, 2007 at 2:30 am. #
Yep — see the update right at the top … made at around 12am.
by Tony Hung on November 10, 2007 at 2:34 am. #
@Wendy — this may degenerate into a he-said / she-said event in the absence of any evidence; having said that, we’re still waiting to hear from the expo founders side of the story. ;)
by Tony Hung on November 10, 2007 at 2:37 am. #
I don’t know what the communication was between BW and Mike, but he posted in the Blogworld Facebook group weeks ago that he wasn’t going to be at the event. More here:
Sounds like miscommunication to me, not any ill-intent on either side.
by Steve Broback on November 10, 2007 at 2:50 am. #
I’m sure it will turn into a he said/she said thing… which is really unfortunate. But I enjoyed your writeup regardless. :)
by Wendy Piersall on November 10, 2007 at 3:12 am. #
mike hates anyone who looks to compete with him and techcrunch. face it that’s it.
the real reason is that mike and om are in the conference business and they don’t want to endorse a competitor. please people this is the real reason. i’d like to know what mike was doing yesterday that was so urgent that he couldn’t get on a 1 hr flight to vegas to speak to the people who endorsed his blog success.
mike is digging a big graves for himself and his company.
by competition baby on November 10, 2007 at 9:36 am. #
@Wendy — thanks for the kind words. Too bad I missed you at SOBCon earlier this year (wasn’t able to make it). :)
@competition: “don’t want to endorse” a competitor? Are you sure? The conference these two guys do aren’t blogging-centric. They also show up at loads of other conferences. Hey, thanks for trying though.
by Tony Hung on November 10, 2007 at 10:55 am. #
[...] actually don't care about the facts in the current drama over Michael Arrington not attending 2 sessions where he was scheduled to speak, possibly because [...]
by Plausible Deniability Just Doesn't Cut It Mr Arrington | Andy Beard - Niche Marketing on November 10, 2007 at 12:43 pm. #
I’d like to know who this “competition baby” person is, and what their backstory is.
Tony has earned the right to my reading time, but anonymous slanderers have not. Stand up for yourself, back the words you type with either value, or identity, or both.
jd
by John Dowdell on November 10, 2007 at 6:45 pm. #
Competition Baby
how is TC40 or one of Om’s conferences in competition with BlogWorldExpo? Weirdest thing I’ve read yet. Totally different market and audience.
As for Michael hoping on a plane, he never agreed to speak and certainly I’ve never heard him once say to me that he was going. I heard from the BlogWorldExpo people that he was, but he not only didn’t accept, he also publicly on Facebook declined the invite, end of story. Don’t be so self important to believe that everyone should jump at one conference because you’re involved in it. As Michael notes in Crunchnotes, not his audience, and it costs him time being there with nothing to gain from it.. which as far as I’m concerned is more than fair enough.
by Duncan on November 10, 2007 at 8:02 pm. #
@jd — thanks for your kind words.
On the other hand, I’m quite happy to tolerate anonymous cowards who don’t want to leave a url or real email address (I’m presuming baby@gmail.com isn’t real) until they bore me or my reading public. ;)
{I shall take your comment as a vote for the latter}
by Tony Hung on November 10, 2007 at 8:45 pm. #
@Duncan — I agree … Om and Mike would have a very different target audience than BlogExpo per se.
On the other hand, it seems like (from the updates on Crunchnotes) that it was a miscommunication error on both sides.
If anyone has seen any official communications from Rick Calvert of BlogExpo on the matter (as an official rebut to Mike) please comment and let me know.
by Tony Hung on November 10, 2007 at 8:48 pm. #
… I think, perhaps, the real question in all of this is why Leo thought that ‘Mike forgot’, if, in fact, he did no such thing. Irrespective of what you think his actual motivations are, it looks like he never communicated anything directly to Leo Laporte at all.
And if Leo wanted to cover for Mike he did so in a most … well, crappy way (that started this business).
by Tony Hung on November 10, 2007 at 8:51 pm. #
@ Duncan, any time you come to “defend” your friends on blogs, you make an ass out of yourself and them ** moderated **
by Anonymous on November 10, 2007 at 11:01 pm. #
[...] this blog has persisted for some time now with generally well-meaning comments, but with a recent post and comments I think its time I laid down some ground [...]
by Deep Jive Interests » On Weeding Out Trolls — I’m Adding A Comment Policy. on November 11, 2007 at 12:33 am. #
Sorry “anonymous”, but your ad-hominem attacks bore me, and now violate the blog’s comment policy.
You’ll have to bring up your issues with Duncan outside this blog.
by Tony Hung on November 11, 2007 at 12:44 am. #
charming (I saw the comments by email). Always know when people don’t give their name they cant stand by their convictions.
For the record Michael never told me he was coming, the BlogExpo people told me he was, and that was the context of the quote. I guess like everyone else I believed it to be true because I didn’t ask Michael himself. Lesson learned by everyone: communication is vital at every stage.
As for anons comments: I’ve started over 200 sites, taken a blogging network to VC, paid off most of a mortgage, spoken at a ton of conferences etc, been quoted in books, MSM including a couple of front pages..oh yeah, nearly forget, documented the rise of blogging from nothing… so I’m interested into what little experience I have? I may not be perfect, and I’m certainly never always right, but I at least have the strength of my convictions to put my name to what I write.
by Duncan on November 11, 2007 at 1:38 am. #
[...] from the conference as a jumping-off point for all kinds of ad hominem attacks (like the ones in Tony’s comment section at Deep Jive Interests) and conspiracy theories about link-bait. In the end, conference organizer [...]
by Reminder: Think before you blog - - mathewingram.com/work on November 11, 2007 at 11:36 am. #
I forgot is transparent and honest. Wanting someone to be dishonest goes against the very core of what blogging and social networking is all about. He forgot… so what?! he’s obviously a busy guy.
by Douglas Karr on November 11, 2007 at 2:22 pm. #
@Duncan — people might like you, they might hate you, but they can’t dispute the record. :)
by Tony Hung on November 11, 2007 at 3:44 pm. #