I really miss former TechCrunch writer Duncan Riley. But at least he gave us a gift just before he left that just keeps on giving - his May 5 post calling BS on a Canadian startup called MediaScrape and its founder, Tyler Cavell.
Cavell took issue with our post, demanded an opportunity to respond (although he’d already done that in a comment to our original post), and threatened vague legal action. We posted everything, as we always do. Cavell wrote a long rambling comment, rescinded his legal threat and, as an afterthought, randomly defamed his own “drop-out, former cocaine-addict, delusional” cousin.
Cavell also claimed to be a “former journalist in the UK, South Africa and Canada,” although we can find absolutely no record of anything he’s ever published with a byline. And we looked pretty hard.
But he wasn’t done, and apparently Canada has his back. The Montreal Gazette wrote a puff piece about Cavell and Mediascrape today, and they even lined up a nice supporting quote from a Microsoft Canada evangelist. Here’s the most interesting part of the article (bolding has been added):
This rift exploded last week when the feared tech blog TechCrunch wrote a post that questioned some claims made by MediaScrape. The blog’s writer, Duncan Riley, wondered why the company keeps its investors secret and said its website had the “general look and feel of a site done on the cheap.”
Things turned worse when, below that blog post, two anonymous commenters claiming to be his ex-employees accused MediaScrape of being a bogus PR scheme to raise money.
TechCrunch closed the post to new comments, so Cavell couldn’t respond in the blog itself. So he sent an email threatening legal action.
Anyone who has followed bickering among bloggers may know that a lawsuit threat is an invitation for ridicule. Bloggers have figured out that if they publish the threat on the blog, its sympathizers will swarm the litigator with mockery on other blogs, hoping the instigator backs off.
This is what happened, and now some of the top results on a Google search for MediaScrape point to unfavourable comments.
Yet this hardly seems to faze Cavell. He doesn’t feel he needs to satisfy doubting bloggers.
“Screw them,” he said. “We’re a private company. I don’t have to tell them shit.”
The article also quotes David Crow, a tech evangelist at Microsoft Canada, who says “the Internet business culture of playing nice with bloggers is optional, and a boon for small startups that don’t have the backing Cavell has.”
I think the article speaks for itself, but I’ll add a couple of points. First, a cursory glance at the original post by the Gazette author, Roberto Rocha, would have shown him that Cavell did leave a comment to the original post. That would have taken him all of about 5 seconds in research. As with all of our posts, comments were closed automatically two weeks after publication to reduce spam.
Second, we don’t post legal threats in the hope that people back off. To the contrary, we post them because they are highly entertaining and make for good content. Of course, we run these by our lawyers first, and if they ever tell us we’ve actually done something wrong, we’d be quick to fix it. That hasn’t happened yet. We’re 5-0 against these lunatics.
Third, the “feared Techcrunch?” We’re a blog about startups, for heaven’s sake. Most people accuse us of being cheerleaders.
Wow, you guys in the US have such a litigious culture.
Ian - except that he’s canadian, which is different than the U.S.
Only 5 serious threats thus far? seems to be rather low, would have expected more, but not surprised by the 5-0 record.
pffffttttt…..
http://www.usatoday.com/life/t.....ians_x.htm
Look at what they did to Conan Obrien for a SKIT.
Canadians are total media whores. They’ll do anything for US press. They’re starved up there. The best they have is Paula Todd, Lloyd Robertson and the most boring personalities and stories you could possibly imagine.
Here is a hot story in Canada:
“native american gets drunk and doesn’t pick up daughter from school”
That’s like their front page headlines. They suck.
youtube.com/watch?v=MHGoKD5hWqA
Look at this, CTV reported on a FAKE youtube video featuring people that were fighting back against throwing cigarette buts in the street. They couldn’t even do due dilligence because THAT’S HOW STUPID CANADIANS ARE.
This is the fake video in question
youtube.com/watch?v=BpZsiDAJ01k
These Montreallers are straight out of the 1800s. Literally.
What a joke. The cold up there freezes their brain function.
Total crap, Montreal Gazette fails again.
This is why Dawson college happened. Exactly why, because of stuff like this, law 101, and inbredness.
Should change the title to
French Canadians Unite To Fight Off The “Feared TechCrunch”
More accurate
Us Canadians are afeared of you big bad bloggers with scary names like TechCrunch. Does it like hockey? Does it drink Tim Horton’s?
Anyway, this dude sounds pretty scetchy.
http://www.youtube.com/results.....arch_type=
That’s french Canada in a nutshell. Imagine a whole country of people like this.
Wow, you actually posted profanity instead of obfuscating it!
F$%@, I guess you can do what you want considering TechCrunch is a privately owned service.
Funny post. Come on over Michael, we’re much more relaxed startup here in Edmonton (yes it’s in Canada). We’ll get you a beer and slap some Alberta beef on the BBQ.
@Chris
Why slander all Canadians for what a minority feels?
We Americans can overreact as well.
Check out the responses on Digg for this Mexican Absolut Vodka ad:
http://digg.com/politics/Mexic.....ks_to_that
http://www.youtube.com/results.....=&aq=f
This sums up their whole society in my opinion.
Link fixed. “Les Blopers”. Boy do I LOVE blopers! I think I had some for breakfast.
Mr Arrington. Sir. We Canadians do not all follow the same sled dog team. In fact, some of us even drink different brands of beer. Please dear Sir do not lump us together. Good day!
“Feared” sounds about right. Techcrunch has been setting a new tone for itself as of late. This blog is way more out for blood these days than it used to be. It’s all business - I get it. Blog posts talking positively about some random new startup get 20 comments, blog posts trashing people / companies directly (e.g. Blaine Cook) get 200 comments. And advertisers love those pvs.
Don’t be surprised if people change their attitude over appearing on this blog :/
Melanie - Canada ganged up on me today. I’m simply defending myself. Why in the world you put up with those people from Quebec is beyond me.
Not just feared, but bloodthirsty now! Loves it.
yongfook - we haven’t changed our tone. you’re just not reading the bulk of our stories. we’ve always called out this crap when we saw it.
I’m not going to waste my time formulating an arguement.. but Canadians are not all like that. Please don’t resort to making this about Canadians, when it isn’t.
“feared tech blog TechCrunch” Interesting choice of words. Someone interested in psychology might say the author of that article subconsciously reflected the interviewee’s feelings in that statement. But, what do I know…
Relax there Chris. I guess you are the reason some Canadians feel Americans are ignorant. I’m not sticking up for the guy in the story but give it up dude.
Nobody would tolerate anything like:
Why in the world you put up with those people from Mexico is beyond me.
or
Why in the world you put up with those people from Israel is beyond me.
but when Mr. Arrington writes:
Why in the world you put up with those people from Quebec is beyond me.
that should be ok?
I find it VERY immature to group people and stereotype by Countries and Provinces/States. My 5 year old son doesn’t even do that.
That site has an awful design and half of the BBC’s sidebar.
They’ve supposedly raised $5.2million and have a design like that “yuck”
Yeah I guess Micheal has never been to Quebec, some of the most beautiful woman in the world there :-)… if you are into that sort of stuff.
Mike, Quebec is like the Soviet Union. No lie. Don’t give them any more press.
That’s my 2 cents. It’s not even funny.
Michael change that stupid twitter icon you have, you look like a goof in it
In a gesture of solidarity, Michael, I am ready to renounce my Canadian citizenship and move to the U.S. — but there aren’t enough Tim Horton’s outlets, and I am woefully addicted to their Java juice. Once that problem is rectified I will be free to emigrate.
For what it’s worth, I wrote about Mediascrape here: http://www.mathewingram.com/wo.....g-grenade/
Wow, Chris. Did you get the crap kicked out of you at some Montreal peeler bar by any chance? If not, next time you’re in Canada we’ll go for a little drive
I’m not your friend, buddy!
“feared tech blog TechCrunch”
haha I love it
Wooo - sites down! SOLID! Where can i possibly go to watch all those aggregated news clips now… oh yea wait - a billion other places.
I’m not your buddy, guy!
Mathew - man, I miss Tim Hortons. And the Senators.
Michael,
In picking up David Crow’s comment, you didn’t mention that the article did quote me representing a different point of view:
This goes entirely against the prevailing wisdom of the Web, according to Joseph Thornley, head of Thornley Fallis, an Ottawa public relations firm specializing in online marketing.
“Today perceptions can be shaped not by owners of big media but by anyone who has an articulate point of view,” he said.
“It’s prudent for anyone who cares about their reputation to be concerned about what the new influencers say about them.
“If you think you don’t have to worry about it, you’re dreadfully wrong.”
Hey, give us a break? Didn’t you live here once? Zip.ca?
Ya that’s right, you better just take it too, Mr fancypants or we’ll sick our feared samsquantch on you and then you’ll really be sorry…
Mathew - added a link to your post above. I forgot that you called this like it was.
Joseph - apologies.
You can’t judge Canada by Quebec, would Americans like to be judged by Texas? That’s not just a no, that’s a hell no.
There is nothing better than doing your morning (Australia time) reading of techcrunch and seeing Mediascrape…the last time Arrington posted on these guys I laughed so hard some of my staff ask for the link thinking it was a nice youtube video.
This Tyler guy should change Mediascrape into a parody and then, and only then, would the site make sense.
Although the funding is most likely bs, if it was my $5m I would be kissing it goodbye or hoping Tyler can punt it for a return.
@Chris, I *heart* Montreal. One of the best cities in the world. Not all Quebecois are assholes. You’re just mad b/c they want to separate from Canada and its 55% tax rates and join the USA as the 51st state.
Damn Canadians, sometimes it makes me crazy wondering what my countrymen are thinking.
Send him to Quebec
dramacrunch
Its fun to see that the 3 things Duncan was writing about (there cheap logo, the stolen BBC world map and the google logo’s), all have been changed by the company after that first post.
For the love of all that is good and decent DO NOT paint all Canadians with the same brush as this guy. Lord knows we all as a society’s have maybe one or two whackjobs amoung us.
Better to not get the Canadians mad at us. Obama needs them to tell us how to do Universal Health Care and they might refuse.
On second thought…they will probably refuse anyway. They need a place to go if they can’t wait a year for an operation.
Jack
*wonders if he is one of these nasty Canadians that could do such a thing……’
hmmm, lumping everybody together is more likely to just piss off people that might be enjoying reading your work more than anything else……
*wanders back down a Canadian road….
obi
“@Chris, I *heart* Montreal. One of the best cities in the world. Not all Quebecois are assholes. You’re just mad b/c they want to separate from Canada and its 55% tax rates and join the USA as the 51st state. :)”
55% taxes are unacceptable. $7 a gallon gas is unacceptable.
Law 101 is unacceptable. Language laws forced upon people by law is unacceptable.
You may think America is English or Anglophone or whatever catch synonym you care to use this week, but when I walk into Walmart in Paramount all the signs are in Spanish.
You see, in America there is no law 101, and people are FREE to do as they choose. Our first amendment isn’t limited by the “good sense” of parliament like the charters of rights and freedoms.
Our laws aren’t ok’ed or veto’d by the Queen of England through her governor General who technically has more power than the leader of the country.
No sir, we are a free people. We took care of King George III and the Middle East.
Canadians, skedaddle. Go set up your donut stand in Afghanistan and watch out for those F-16s overhead.
@alistair I’m not your guy, pal.
@ Jack, that’s just retarded.
@ yongfook.
Try reading one of the first Techcrunch review about Ning. Michael ripped the company apart. I am sure they were a little hurt to see their product get an F.
Instead of SUING Techcrunch, they went back to the labs and worked too damn hard to bring a company that is now valued at 560M.
That my friend is how you deal with criticism. Or you can just keep it quite, instead of saying something that only benefits your ego but not your community and or bank account.
Michael: Actually, I can’t find many credible local tech blogs that support MediaScrape’s attitude; in fact, most, like the locally influential MontrealTechWatch, deride it. What I find completely imbecilistic though is that you’d lump all Canadians (and Quebecers) into the same pot because of some random idiots you conveniently quoted for flamebait and page views. Weak.
David Crow, a tech evangelist at Microsoft Canada, who says “the Internet business culture of playing nice with bloggers is optional, and a boon for small startups that don’t have the backing Cavell has.”
Who is this idiot? Does he mean that a company that’s raised money doesn’t have to worry about things like PR? Talk about Canadians making Canadians look bad.