Now even mainstream journalists are picking up the no handshake banner and running with it. Neil Swidey, writing for the Boston Globe, says “Last month, swine flu officially became a pandemic. Public health officials have said so-called “social distancing” strategies — sharply reducing contact with others — have proved most effective in slowing the spread of previous outbreaks, such as the 1918 flu pandemic. And they told us to cut down on our handshakes as much as we could. Northeastern University heeded the advice, asking its graduates not to shake hands when receiving their diplomas during the school’s commencement ceremony in May.”
Swidley also points to Brad Feld’s promise earlier this year to end handshakes, and asked Feld how that was going. Feld said “My campaign was a total failure. I found that I was having the same conversation over and over, explaining why I wasn’t shaking hands. I got tired of it and decided it was easier to just shake everyone’s hands and then wash mine a bunch throughout the day.”
I obviously agree that handshakes need to go. My first post on handshakes was in May, and after I noted that some startups and venture capitalists were trying to end the barbaric practice at board meetings. I piped up again on National Handshake Day.
Like Feld, I too have mostly given up on this. People just get pissed when you don’t shake their hand. But 30% or so of people I meet with know how I feel about it and offer a friendly fist bump. The best moments I have are when people say how much they love TechCrunch and read it every day, and then stick out their sweaty palm to shake hands. They obviously were just being polite about reading this blog. I shake their hand with a smile, and remember to wash my hands at the next opportunity.
I found that people thought you were pregidous and looked at you funny. I would always say please forgive me but I have a cold and I don’t want you to get it. Never worked.
I too, decided to just bring a bottle of Prell.
I read this post and said “he’s full of it!” Shaking a hand is a social obligation, akin to “Good Morning”. Paranoid?
Advice: Get adequate sleep, eat wisely, exercise and wash your hands frequently. If you are not immuno-compromised or in an “at risk population, your immune system should do the job. (REMEMBER what kind of people the CDC recommends to get flu vaccines? Aged, Children and other special populations)
Forget purel (prell is a shampoo from the 60s). USE soap and warm water – same outcome, cheaper and available in every porcelain john!
“If you are not immuno-compromised or in an “at risk population, your immune system should do the job.”
It’s no use trying to argue with a person with OCD. They will always find a new reason for their behavior. As long as the intruding thoughts or unease go away when doing the ritual (washing hands) that’s the most important thing. Not reasoning with people.
Techcrunch should reverse the posting order of comments so that the most recent show up at the top. Check out TED.
It’s more fun. It democratizes commenting. Everybody gets a little airtime. The way it is now, on highly commented blogs, the first comments get all the attention and the end comments get no attention. It’s like going to the cafeteria and the first guy gets all the food while the rest just get to watch.
On low commented blogs it’s not relevant. On highly commented blogs it’s clearly a violation of the Second Amendment.
The Gawker blogs aslo have the most recent comments at the top, correct?
Amen brother! When I read this I thought it was a spoof of something. Maybe it actually is, who knows. One thing is certain, I will never stop shaking hands. It IS an important social obligation and it conveys information. An unwillingness to shake hands also conveys information.
If your body doesn’t have the immune system to fight off bacteria from a simple handshake, then you’ve got bigger problems than can be addressed at TechCrunch.
Try webMD.com and search for immunodeficiency.
For crying out loud – everyone take a chill pill.
Jeff Reason sayeth:
>If your body doesn’t have the immune system to fight off bacteria from a simple handshake, then you’ve got bigger problems than can be addressed at TechCrunch.
Ahem.
It takes only 10, count them, ten, MRSA bacteria to successfully attack someone who is genetically vulnerable or who is immunocompromised.
Well then, new startup opportunity! The market must be HUGE for giant oversized hamsterballs to protect the poor immunideficient genetically compromised people in the world. Even if its just 1% of the world, that’s 70 million people!
At a sale rate of roughly $500 per ball, you could have potentiall $35b in revenue. Then add wear-factor and customizations and your business is even scalable!
Maybe they were looking funny at your spelling.
I was thinking the same thing. I know I had to ponder that ‘word’ a bit to figure out what it was supposed to be.
Michael, Being opposed to handshaking is dumb. I understand some people just like to be iconoclastic, just to be “cool”.
How about taking on the American habit of asking “how are you doing?”? This makes more sense. Most people who ask this, don’t really mean to be asking for a status update.
There’s nothing barbaric about a handshake. It’s a simple, real human contact in an ever increasingly separated world. Perhaps you should discuss with some close friend or counselor why you’re so insecure. Man up!
Logically, I agree with you about avoiding spreading disease. So wash your hands.
Good luck.
Bill
@courtney benson: Pregidous is not a word (and certainly not an adjective), but prejudiced is. There’s no excuse for that kind of spelling past age 18.
A handshake is about TRUST
you don’t shake my hand, you’re not trustworthy… I don’t care about your reasons
you don’t trust me, I don’t trust you
I bet mike has sex like in demolition man where they put on the head pieces.. no touching aloud.. seriously we need more touching in this world not less… Mike do you curl up next to your apple as you fall asleep… you know the USB port is not a…
With an inbred name like Gebadia, I think it’s safe to say that understanding you would happen once world peace is achieved.
really dig the alfred bester reference.
That’s exactly what I wanted to say. In a world where human connection is depleting fast, we need more ways to connect and bond people together. Don’t pave way to a world where people will stop hugging their loved ones and patting some ones back for a job well done! Technology can not and should not replace human connection
NO !!!
We have FACEBOOK now !
No need to have real relations, anymore !
I wish we could ‘like’ comments
latex gloves might be the solution for cultural orthodoxy. a very interesting book that I highly recommend is called “The Hidden Dimention” by Edward T Halls. I wouldn’t recommend you read it if you are politically correct because it explores the social space differences between cultures and could offend the tech elite, facebook or twitter employee. http://www.csis...sics/content/13
Halls is not afraid to analyze difference. we could learn a lot from a man like this today. we are living in era where we can’t survive a plague because we don’t want to offend anyone? Another example of the culture of non interventionism that is tyrannizing life at it’s worst
….you just cant avoid handshakes, its like trying to avoid saying good morning to anyone when you go to work; that’s how its perceived.
Although “good morning” has a good alternative. It’s “hello.”
Shaking hands, on the other hand, offers no good alternatives.
Fist bumps? No..
Exactly, you try to fist bump me during a business meeting and I’ll show you to the door and you can take your (noun)twit investor presentation with you.
You mention something about not believing in hand shakes etc when I reach across the table to shake yours and I immediately think there’s something not right about you.
If you want to start off every FIRST INTRODUCTION on the wrong foot, follow Mike’s lead.
anybody heard of antibodies?
blah blah swine flu. This the same swine flu where in the last pandemic the vaccine killed more people than the actual sickness?
thx for being uninteresting. Next article should be “bust out the leaches here comes the swine flu” or maybe “You should wash your hands after wiping your ars and before shaking hands” oooh here’s one “why you should be asian and start wearing a dust mask, gloves and a visor over you face when you walk out of the house…. SWINE FLU”
yet another 45 secs of life wasted.
Few more posts on the topic and you can probably get that number from 30 to 50%.
Seriously you are all tech nerds, you can’t pull off the fist bump.. I am sorry but people who sit in front of a computer just ain’t that cool..
I’m in favor of a good ass grab instead. Who’s with me?
If I’m greeting a women, I prefer a good schnitzel shake. My whole day seems to go better.
I shake Arrington’s hand as often as I can. Why? Cause it gets that “you don’t read my blog, do you?” look.
Seriously shaking hands is so automatic in our society that it’s very hard to change this behavior. I think we’ll be driving electric cars before we get rid of shaking hands.
That said, I usually fist bump when I can because I just don’t want to be the guy who gets a whole town sick.
May be you guys should try Namaste (or namaskar).
http://en.wikip...rg/wiki/Namaste
why, what have you got?
lol seriously, I would say ‘get a life’ but that would be stating something so completely obvious… given you so clearly are afraid to walk outside.
That’s because the blimp will eat him.
So that’s what happened, you gave up. At the CrunchUp, a chatted with you for a minute, and it was you that reached out for a handshake. I was just going to avoid it until you did that.
It was an odd conversation over all though, here was my tweet just a few mins after the chat: http://twitter....atus/2574132262
Mysophobia (or germaphobia) is a disease, Mike – you need treatment!
People need to learn not to put your hands in their mouths, noses, and eyes, and wash hands before eating. Even if you get germs on your hands, they won’t do anything to you unless until you put them in the organs mentioned above. Well, unless that person you’re handshaking with has some contagious skin disease, of course.
Also, some extra germs actually improve your immune system. You have to read more on the topic – antibacterial soaps are actually doing more harm than helping people avoid getting sick.
I was always told just to “rub a little dirt in it”. Now a days I can’t remember the last time I had a cold. Get over it and build up your immune system – rub a little dirt in your hand before shaking!
http://en.wikip...wiki/Mysophobia
Michael and Howie Mandel should get together and shake hands with latex gloves on.
You guys should do what we do in India – NAMASTE – google it if you don’t know how it’s done.
yeah, let’s throw people in jail for kissing in public like you do in India too
hehehe Good one
how long is the sentence?
You mean like child pornography rules being used against children in the USA?
Why does it have to be all or none policy?. Is there a possibility that we could adopt what we like and ignore the rest
Then that would enforce your stupid Indian traditions onto us. No thanks.
@retard is you – Yeah unfortunately it wouldn’t help with your being a complete asshole either. Still, it was a nice try.
Simply cough into your hand right before the hand shake is about to happen. That should do the trick
Loving contact with children when they’re young makes them more well rounded individuals, and the same is true of adults.
There’s an article in the New Yorker that goes over just how important human contact is, and it’s a fascinating read.
http://www.newy...fa_fact_gawande
Even if this is all a silly joke, it is likely influential. Promoting physical isolation from others because of your own agenda is at best fatuous, and at worst fosters paranoia about germs.
I think taking the bus and having to hang onto the rails that everyone who went before you has touched is far worse than shaking hands with a few people during the day. Just my luck to not have a car when there’s nasty swine flu germs around.
Haha… You are so weird Arrington.
Handshakes are a very telling sign when meeting someone. Firm and strong w/ good eye contact makes a strong first impression. Fishy and weak does not. Running away (or tucking hands in pocket) brands you as a Howard Hughes-esque germ weanie.
I’ll stick with the old fashioned shake (combined with regular use of Purell sanitizer).
While I am not too into the handshake thing as I find it very impersonal and dirty, I usually reserve the fist bump for very close friends. What is one to do to acknowledge the other person’s existence, agreement, etc?
From the TechCrunch “About Us” page:
“TechCrunch was founded on June 11, 2005, as a weblog dedicated to obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies. In addition to covering new companies, we profile existing companies that are making an impact (commercial and/or cultural) on the new web space.”
Err… right.
Just wash your hands more. Handshakes aren’t a major cause of sickness compared to everything else we come into interaction with. Doorknobs, public computer keyboards, surfaces we touch, etc are much larger culprits.
If you don’t expose yourself, then your natural immune system will crap itself when it gets a serrious hit.
When they give you a jab for flu, they are actually infecting you with a small amount of the flu so that your immune system can build up its defence for a serious hit.
Handshaking, probably works in roughly the same way. However, I would avoid doing it with someone that’s just flushed the can. And people that know they have something have a responsibility to avoid contact with others.
Worst thing is when people shake hands at a party where everyone’s eating. I was fighting a cold at Le Web a couple of years ago, and we were eating all that spectacular food, and people kept wanting to shake my hand, the same hand that was handling food that was going into their digestive system. I kept saying “You don’t want what I have,” but they all insisted on shaking anyway. It’s stupid! Really fucking stupid.
Your last name fits you accordingly.
VIVA La Girly-Man!
They don’t use silverware in France?
“people kept wanting to shake my hand, the same hand that was handling food that was going into their digestive system.”
YOUR hand was feeding THEM?????
I knew France is a strange place…
The handshake disease strikes again!!! I thought you had left this in the past Michael
What I enjoy the most about these posts are the comments. I love respectful bashers.
Yikes! I’m sorry I shook your hand. I forgot about this entirely. My bad.
I try the Japanese head bow instead of returning the handshake with some success (It doesn’t help that I’m of Danish vs Asian descent. Most people I meet – I don’t want to touch. The part about people not reading your blog is awesome.
I thought this was going to be about the Obama-gets-no-handshake-in-Russia
Michael Admiral, that’s your standard for trust, not everyone is the same, some of us really only care to touch people we really care about not strangers, I don’t trust you now and shaking your hand wouldn’t make me trust you then. i hope you realize that the whole world does not exist to make you happy.
American people are so ignorant due to media blackout of swine flue reporting.
Does anyone know here, more than 292 people have died of swine flue in USA.
Thats a death every day since swine pandemic began.
Check out CDC website, facts speaks for themselves
292 people died so far out of a current 300 million people in the U.S.? What is that, like a hundredth of 1 percent?
1 death vs 11,803 current live births per day…
The sky is falling, the sky is falling!
Jimmy, we understand if you didn’t get enough loving as a child, most of us did and we don’t need to be reassured that we are loved.
The US is already one of the socially distant countries. Try living in a country like Uruguay (or most other countries). My family and I moved here from the States. We’re in flu season in the Southern Hemisphere and it’s customary for men, women, and children to give kisses on the cheek. Yes, guys kiss each other as well. Not mention hugs and the occasional handshake. I guess I could hole up in the house with Twitter as my only interaction with the outside world.
ok, ther’s the truth: our immune sistem need some contact with germs (not a lot, just some) so it can be prepared for bigger disease. Handshake work great for that!
I don’t handshake much, simply because when I bow instead (not a full waist bow, smaller) people really feel more respect, you can be pretty intimidating with a handshake sometimes.
On the other side however, I think close physical contact is much needed in society nowadays, so I try and hug and be closer to people whenever possible… maybe there’s a bit of disease transfer risk but I think it’s much healthier to feel good with close contact
@Michael Arrington : Why don’t you just live in a bubble somewhere? Scared of touching !!! Asses like you is what the world needs less of to make this planet, a healthier place to live.
Michael being such a big figure in Tech world and beyond, that he can pull this off. If he was a regular blogger, a no-name startup, or someone who needs to network to work with others he would shake people’s hand to network.
Plus Michael and TechCrunch team does get info and articles handed to them in a silver platter that he doesn’t have to chase for news (Besides this Twitter leak of course).
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni began advocating against handshaking in December, 2007 in an effort to contain the spread of the Ebola virus in his country.
this is absurd, and very american. there are things in this world to be afraid of — handshakes are not among them.
In europe, we embrace, we kiss. Yes amongst men.
Michael, you need to get in touch with your soul.
cesar
Seriously? More people die each year from peanut buttery allergies than swine flu. But if you’re still feeling paranoid, remember to also avoid children, hospitals, airplanes, oh yeah…and offices.
Ooops…I forgot an important one…probably the dirtiest item you touch on a regular basis: your keyboard.
10 bucks says they have door knobs at the Techcrunch office, wonder how you manage to avoid those germs.
How do you sleep at night?
Germs are good for you, they keep you from getting extremly sick.
People get allergies because their parents kept them TO clean as kids.
When you do get a germ on your hands and you happen to rub your nose, it’s going to overtake you faster than ever imagined if you try to stay overly clean.
In Thailand people Wai each other. This is a well established social greeting that establishs trust but avoids the germs.
In the lift coming up to my office I watched as someone picked their nose then wiped their hair, luckily they didn’t press the floor for our office – and I didn;t need to to hit the bio-hazard alarm.
Poor Mikey! Having to shake hands! So sad!
You’re pathetic Errington. But you won’t ever have to worry about me wanting to shake your hand.
Seriously guys get out and make contact.. next are you going to give up verbal communication in person because of tongues conspiring against you.. flicking literally millions of particles of all the worst things ever at your face of all things!?
Combating the spread of the disease is one thing.. but I have to say my opinion is more in line with those who think this is more like a disconnective disorder caused by TOO LITTLE human contact; since technology has made our lives so much.. “easier”…
Or.. well I’m sure a number of people probably just think it’s “cute” for them in some way but.. sadly fellas… a middle aged computer nerd who is afraid to touch people is a bit more what it looks like from here.. I am not your audience, I admit but.. you call a dog, a dog don’t you?
So! Not shaking hands for some embedded personal reason, thats fine.. saying it’s because you’re afraid of germs and consider it barbaric… yikes
Mike please stop posting this crap to tc…
I’ve been reading this blog for years, and I don’t recall the former handshaking bits. Because, while I read it quite a bit, I sometimes miss a day, week, or more when I have, you know… other stuff to do. Vacation. Life. Whatever.
Also, sometimes I read stuff and then forget it. Because, well… my brain is made of brain.
When people say they read your blog every day, I suggest you take it as polite hyperbole. The kind that should be answered with a nice, friendly handshake.
Well, pardon the puns, but (porcine flu not withstanding) at least the huge pork-driven broadband stimulus might eliminate some *modem* handshakes…
Here’s a thought. Instead of our current handshake, let’s go back to ye olden times handshake… where we grab each others forearms and shake that way.
We are not coughing onto our wrist/forearm, it still shows the “Trust”, and in fact, it might be cleaner, as it keeps generic germs picked up from doors clear of your hands.
Then again, people wash that area even less than hands… so it’s a toss up.
thoughts on this idea?
You’re officially obsessed. Seek help.
I believe in this one he has a point. I’m from Argentina and the first advice is to avoid direct contact with other people. Sounds crazy but for many people who has conditions (ie asthma) swine flu means death.
My two cents
When it comes to body language reading, a handshake can provide a great inside of the character of the person opposite of you. For instance, how firm a person’s handshake is can give you an idea how tough their character is and how difficult it might be to convince them about something. It can also give you an idea of their current state, ex. – distressed, stressed, have something on their mind.
Swine flue has killed about 50 people in US this year? People going to such extreme measures for something so miniscule is laughable. Flu causes hundred of thousands of deaths every year. Please check your facts before being stupid about it.
I’m glad I live in Thailand where we “wai” – no contact involved and it is really quite a polite gesture.
But the flu is still spreading here even without handshakes.
What I found – that works pretty well – is to hand the person a beer when they reach out to shake hands. If you follow that with a “hey dude” or “how’s-it-going”, most people will totally respect you. Be forewarned, your beer budget for the month may go up though.