FYI - We Didn’t Really Aquire F***edCompany
Michael Arrington
50 comments »
I just want to make it clear that we didn’t really acquire FuckedCompany last month. It was just an April Fools joke. I thought making statements like “there just isn’t anything left to invent” would be a sign that we weren’t serious, but we continue to get emails asking how the deal is coming along, and today we noticed that the merger is starting to pop up in various legitimate venture database like VentureDeal (see below).
A few days after the “announcement” I updated the post with a clear statement that it was a joke, but it was missed by some people. Thus the need for an additional clarification.
The joke that keeps on giving.
LOL
So are you saying the Apple’s new iCrunch and SilverCrunch aren’t real either?
Awesome.
Those are the best April Fools Jokes. There should be a survey to see how many people fell for it and how many people didn’t.
For the record, my quote was “My bet is that it is a hoax, 99.99%.” Obviously, I still left an out in case I was wrong!
“TechCrunch Has Acquired FuckedCompany.com”
Why was the page still live on April 2? There’s your problem.
April Fools subtlety without April 1 context = confusion.
LMFAO!
wait, is this post a prelude to the next Fools?
whoops.
Well that fooled them for sure!
LMAO!!
i like it how michael beeped the word F****** in his title but the first thing u see on his post are the words fuckedcompany
lol thats reallt funny Mike….
Bummer. I just love the name CrunchFuck.
Completely fell for it. Never even crossed my mind it was a joke. Made so much sense!
So you’re saying that you really are buying them. Right? Right?!?! RIGHT?!?!
GJ
http://www.60in3.com
Yeah, you got me too. Great prank - I’ll be on my guard next year!
Heh heh Mike, maybe you just said what everyone was thinking?
You should of actually acquired them next year for April fools and released this, that would confuse people!
14TH AND MINNA.
BRING A BAGGIE FOR YOUR TEEF, ARRINGTON.
CHEF-D,
WILL “CRUNCH” YOU AND PUP
If you have to explain your joke 1 month after it was made - the joke was a mistake.
It’s a conceit to think that TC *wouldn’t* be a good match for fuckedcompany. The difference is that Arrington has drunk the VC kool-aid.
Lamest April Fool’s Day joke ever …
Yea, April Fool’s is idiotic… its one thing when your brother puts salt in the sugar bowl, but certainly quite another when mass media purposely deceives the public for a day. If 9/11 had happened on 4/1, I’m sure nobody would have believed it were true either. Certainly venues trying to be considered “trusted news sources” should steer well clear of such fool-tommery — we have enough lies and half-truths to sort out in our media today without the few “trusted” sources purposely giving us reason to doubt. Your “joke” was clearly a farce given the context of the day, however, I didn’t really see any humour to it and it did make me doubt everything else you reported that day. Worth the price? Probably not.
Either April was a slow month for Venture Deal or they have no human based system for adding new company mergers.
Check out the big brain on Brad!
… seriously, I think he summed it up nicely.
I certainly hope that Duncan did not join TC due to the report on VentureDeal that Mike linked to.
Or their human-based system is outsourced to India, where they don’t celebrate April Fool’s.
It’s all over internet links. There is no point of easing it.
If you live different places… Some countries, bloggers, and publications believe you did. They don’t care if it is April fools joke or not.
Once it’s done. People believe TC did acquire FuckedCompany. You don’t need contract.
How do you go back fix it?
There is no such thing is april fools joke in some countries.
lolz.
Sorry, no other comment really can express the humor in this.
@How do you know if TC didn’t aquire FuckedCompany?
Nobody cares about other countries.
I’m embarrassed to say it took me most of the day to realize it was a joke.
http://www.happyinwater.com/li.....-invented/
@How do you know if TC didn’t aquire FuckedCompany?
By not being a freaking retard.
Mike,
I take what you write on your blog as newsworthy and I actually looked at F*****Company’s website (for what that was worth). I really question the integrity of your site now. I can understand if you relied on rumors and reported them as such but I rely on your site for news content, not a good joke.
Brad, I think your comparison might be going a little overboard. Also, “I didn’t really see any humour to it and it did make me doubt everything else you reported that day ” - if you don’t doubt EVERY post a little at techcrunch at least a little, you haven’t been around here long enough. This place doesn’t have the best track record. :/
Perhaps all the interested people asking about the deal and not thinking it was a joke shows you that it could actually be a good idea to buy them after all?
God, Arrington, can’t ex-lawyers go on some sort of de-anally retentive rehab program?
For a serious news and analysis website like TechCrunch, it was absolutely out of whack to have a April Fool’s joke. If it was a joke, you shoudln’t have written such a long post, explaining the rationale of the deal, etc and etc, and then expect readers to take it as a joke.
It was just unnecessary, and we don’t know if we should take you seriously if you break an actual story on next April 1.
@ other - unfortunately, I have been around far, far too long. Oh, you mean TechCrunch… well, yeah, you’re probably right.
I’m a Korean blogger and I analyzed the meaning of the deal on my blog. Now I have to tell my subscriber that it was just a joke. Well..You were too serious..^^
Mike. Please stop doing April fools joke. I just hate it. I can’t understand why people would lying to people. What a stupid thing. I hate you Mike. You fools me. I’ve told the story to my friends. I won’t believe your site anymore. Sorry folk. It’s your fault. Not mine.
Good bye.
Guys, anyone know other websites that can replace TC? I need a legitimate news source.
I think GigaOM is a good alternative. Any ideas?
Try our site: http://open-bit.com . Not to replace TC but to give you more news/blog exposure.
Frankly, I fell for it too.
It did make sense to do. Why not?
If it was an april fools joke - you should have called it as such on 2nd or 3rd, not a whole month after that. Just a friendly suggestion.
BTW, here i the list of REAL events that happened on April 1st:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_1. None was a joke.
You got me fooled
I didn’t know it was a joke until just now. Good joke I guess.
That is what happens when you post stuff on a web site and
think it is cute. You should be fired. Maybe in your next job
you’ll act older than a 9 year old on April Fools day.
I was among the many (evidently) who believed this. In fact, I’d lowered my daily diligence of reading Techcrunch from “always”, to “maybe tomorrow” when I have lots of down time. Even a smart guy like you can learn something from time to time; don’t mess with your brand image, not on April Fool’s day or any other day of the year.
+1 for don’t mess with your brand image. I will unsubscribe from TC’s RSS.
-10 for TC. Bad site with a bad joke.
:-( 
A paid/commercial joke?
That’s fucked.
April Fools jokes are getting out of control on the Internet. If you’re a trustworthy news site why would you jeopardize your reputation like this? Perhaps give it a miss next year, you didn’t do yourself any favors.