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Should Some Startup CEOs Focus More On Their Startup?
Last weekend Mike Arrington wrote that people who blog are basically automatically associated with the companies they work for even if it the content is on their own personal blog. While I disagree overall with his view, I do believe there is one group of people to whom the association does apply. That group are CEOs, more specifically startup CEOs. I’ve written and spoken for a long time about how tools like blogs and now Twitter will ruin careers because they make it so easy to say something you regret a moment later. With today’s Internet services, a moment is all that’s needed to wish you could DVR back and change what was said.
I’ve noticed a number of startup CEOs making comments that are just out of line either about a person, a group of people, a subject, etc. I’d like to share two of the most recent comments that have been pointed towards me in the hopes that if you are a startup CEO, you will pick up some tips on things not to do. Remember, whatever you say today, will follow you forever. Think before you hit the update button.
Last week I posted a column looking at the NY Tech Meetup and what it takes to present. I used iminlikewithyou CEO Charles Forman as my example because he was one of the evening’s presenters who was able to present multiple times and was able to use slides when that’s not allowed for others. I don’t know Charles, the only interaction we’ve had was saying hello at the meetup. Charles sent me an email after my post requesting that I post his video because he wanted to see it. I obliged and posted the video for him to use an hour later.
Charles Forman, the CEO of iminlikewithyou, decided to post a comment which was picked up on Valleywag. You can read the entire comment on VW but nearly moments after his comment I began to receive emails (including from his friends) noting how horrible it was for him to use personal attacks when they weren’t warranted. Here are a couple of the things he said: — This service is now known as OMGPOP –
- If you have a problem with fairness, why aren’t you paying $20? You very realistically take up 2 seats.
- I think the real problem is that you are jealous of my ability to run a mile in under 3 days. Maybe its that I date hot girls?
- You are a sad, lonely, disgusting man. I hope you don’t die of a coronary before we have a chance to patch things up.
If I was an investor in his company, I’d be seriously concerned that this type of person is running a company with our money. Most experts note that when this type of behavior goes on outside of the company, it typically goes on inside as well. I can only imagine that if he made these types of comments to an employee, a suit could easily be filed.
Perhaps Charles should focus more on his business as from the charts below, it looks like even with all of his self-promotion, it’s gone nowhere.
Shortly after Charles posted his comment, Mahalo CEO Jason Calacanis responded with with the following message, “mega-troll Allen Stern crushed by Charles Forman over a “meetup” – wow”. What that says to me is that Jason encourages this type of behavior. We’ve seen these type of attacks many times before with Jason. If you don’t write fluff posts about Mahalo, you are instantly a “hater”. Jason has said things including that the entire SEO industry is a bunch of haters, 37Signals apparently are haters and when Andrew Baron noted that Mahalo traffic was flat, he too became a hater. What does it say to the Mahalo employees, both in the U.S. and in other countries, that their leader encourages unwarranted personal attacks? With the rate of departures from Mahalo over the past few months, could it be that this behavior goes on inside the office as well?
Based on the chart below from comScore and most of the online analytics services, perhaps Jason should too focus more of his energy on Mahalo rather than encouraging this type of behavior. comScore reports Mahalo’s August U.S. visitors at 1.688 million and a decline for September to 1.383 million, about a 20% drop. Other services, Quantcast and Compete show a similar drop.
Again, my hope with this post is to get you to think about the things you say and how you act in public. Don’t say or do something that will not only hurt you today, but more importantly in the future.
Good post Allen. I’m really surprised that a CEO would say that to you, and that is just out of line. There definitely needs to be more respect given, especially from anyone in a leadership position. If I were to do that at our startup, not only would our investors look poorly on us, but our community of supporters and staff too. People are still people.
Wow, I can’t believe someone would say those things, even if it were a personal matter. How old are we again? And in a supposedly professional matter, that’s just out of line. Yes, it’s important to be human, and it’s ok to put things on Twitter, blogs, etc that aren’t 100% positive – I do it all the time, a Tweet about Needish will be followed by a Tweet about the joys of setting up cable. Expressing emotion is fine, expressing this kind of reactioin…well, that just makes you look like an idiot.
Hi Justin – thanks for your comment – That was Jason Calacanis who said that SEO is haters, not me. I don’t hate anyone or anything – not worth it frankly :)
I will try to make that sentence clearer but it was/is something that he says, not me.
I will email you as well just in case you didn’t subscribe to the comments.
Allen,
Thanks for clarifying. I’m sorry I associated that comment with you.
Justin
Allen,
I was agreeing with you whole heartedly until I read :
“The entire SEO industry is a bunch of haters”
I used to do a lot of SEO stuff and don’t appreciate the comment. I find it ironic you made such a disparaging remark in a post about avoiding disparaging remarks.
Otherwise, you are spot on.
Justin
those are apparently the "hot women" which the site always references.
Andrew – the comments were from Jason not me. I don’t think you are a hater nor do you hate me. I was pointing to Jason’s comments when you posted his traffic charts on Google Trends on FriendFeed.
I do admit that I jumped the gun in my comment though I do think it’s ambiguous:
“Jason has said things including that the entire SEO industry is a bunch of haters, 37Signals apparently are haters and when Andrew Baron noted that Mahalo traffic was flat, he too became a hater. ”
Its hard to determine if the 37signals comment and my comment were from us or about us. I do agree though now that I know: Jason called me a hater at a time when I wasn’t feeling hate for him.
Also, there are plenty of things I do like about your blogging Allen, especially as it relates to NYC. I tend to attack when on defense. I’m going to take a break from this style for awhile and see how it goes. Boo!
Also, I don’t really consider myself or my business to be focused on SEO so I’d like to point out that I think you ate not a very effective writer either. In this case your example does not support your claim.
Allen, can you point out where I came off as a hater? I’m a critic, yes, and I will speak out about things that I don’t like. For instace, I think your business is mostly just riffing on the techneme stories that you find on a single page and that you don’t usually add very much useful information to the conversation, but that’s just me being a critic. I don’t hate you.
Btw, why does IILWY make so much effin noise? What’s with those constant dings when somoene logs in, even when they’re not my “friends”? Meh.
I find Charles’ comments disgusting and inexcusable. I guess if you can’t argue the point directly, you have to resort to ad hominem attacks.
That said, I can’t say that I’m totally surprised. I don’t know Charles personally, though it certainly seems like it’s all just part of his doucebag schtick. Fundamentally, I don’t understand it – it’s not exactly an image I aspire to create for myself – but to each their own. Being an asshole doesn’t preclude you from building a successful business, but it sure doesn’t make me root for him.
In any case, this was perhaps the best measured response I can think of. Glad to see you not resort to his bullshit ways. Bravo.
(Shrug). I thought it was pretty clear that those comments were about things Jason had said, not a point that Allen was directly making.
Thanks Allen, Im an over defender ;)
shame on them, and forman in particular for saying those things. It’s not just about being unprofessional; that way of thinking is poisonous to his company and everyone else around him.
could not make it as a dating site, so copied some games and made a game site. there’s innovation for you.
have you considered that without attacking, no one would ever visit mahalo?
Allen:
Wow.
I didn’t see any of this traffic originally because, as a startup CEO myself, I’m a bit busy running rmbrME – and getting people to switch from paper business cards to mobile cards is time consuming. :) But I digress..
I’m shocked at the diatribe, frankly.
The most salient PR lesson I ever learned was actually taught to me by a drag queen. I remember her saying once “Don’t talk back to me m@#&#$. No matter what you say, I’m the one with the microphone.”
I think it’s apropos of a lesson for media relations, don’t you think? :) Perhaps I’ll write a post about that.
-Gabe
I have to say one thing- your product spoke for itself so much that I signed up for the premium service right afterwards. You were and are very eloquent. This is what a CEO should exemplify. The product should always speak for itself and the CEO should be the brand ambassador. Thank you sir, you have ingratiated yourself and your brand with me more.
Allen, you look like at badass in your burger king crown…
WAIT.. I mean you look like a dumbass….
WAIT, I really meant that you don’t deserve to be the burger king, your more of a hamburgler
WAIT… can I take all my comments back?
A professional comment should never follow with a personal attack, and on appearance? How is one thing relevant to the other. In no place at all did Mr. Stern attack Mr. Forman’s company, just the obvious disparity between what he was alotted versus the other presenters. The CEO as the face of the company should instill hope and encourage investors as well as clients through his actions. Mr. Forman should not have to defend his brand. It should be able to defend itself. In actuality he didn’t even do that- he just lashed out at someone making an astute observation. His comments were all ego-based (i.e. fat references, dating hot girls). A great CEO should not bring the attention to himself. A great CEO should let the brand shine, while doing all he can to be as non-intrusive to the company as possible.
Side note- If you believe in your comments you should stand up for them and post your name and information otherwise your evaluation carries no weight. It can be a good point but made moot nonetheless.
Bravo, Allen. An eloquent post is the sweetest form of reason. Nice job. Thanks for standing up for all of us out there who are embarrassed to see the kind of behavior that you highlight.
Absolutely disgusting on Formans part to make it personal. You made a very valid point about preferential treatment . Forman should have had a better way to make his point.
The Internet, even more so than the sea, is unforgiving of even the slightest mistake.