TechCrunch

TechCrunch
Web address techcrunch.com
Commercial? Yes
Type of site
 Technology news and analysis
Registration None
Available in English, French, Japanese
Owner AOL[1]
Created by Michael Arrington, Keith Teare
Editor Alexia Tsotsis and Matthew Panzarino
Launched June 11, 2005
Revenue US$2.4 million (2007 est.)[2]
Alexa rank
 positive decrease 361 (February 2015)[3]
Current status Active
Logo used by TechCrunch from 2005 to 2011
Logo used by TechCrunch from 2011 to 2013

TechCrunch is a news website focused on information technology companies, ranging in size from startups to established NASDAQ-100 firms. It was founded by Michael Arrington and Keith Teare in 2005. On September 28, 2010, at its TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco, AOL announced that it would acquire TechCrunch.[4][5] The transaction was rumored to be between $25 million and $40 million.[6] TechCrunch has a global reader base with the USA (42%), India (16%), Japan (4%), the United Kingdom (3%), and Canada (3%) as main countries according to the number of page impressions.[7]

In 2011, the site came under fire for possible ethics violations. These included claims that Arrington's investments in certain firms which the site had covered created a conflict of interest.[8] The controversy that ensued eventually led to Arrington's departure, and other writers, including Paul Carr and Sarah Lacy, followed suit.[9][10]

TechCrunch Disrupt

TechCrunch Disrupt is an annual conference hosted by TechCrunch in San Francisco,[11] New York City,[12] and Beijing,[13] which began in 2011 and is where some technology startups launch their products and services competing on stage in front of venture capital potential investors, media and other interested parties for prize money and publicity. Past winners include Qwiki, Getaround, and Enigma.io.

Public reception

A scandal erupted over the Titstare application, created by participants in a hackathon at Disrupt 2013.[14][15][16]

In 2014, TechCrunch Disrupt was featured in an arc of the HBO series Silicon Valley.[17] The characters' startup "Pied Piper" participates on a startup battle at TechCrunch Disrupt.[17] According to TechCrunch editor Sam O'Keefe, the show's representation of the conference was "obscenely accurate".[17]

CrunchBase

TechCrunch operates CrunchBase, a database of companies and start-ups, which comprises around 500,000 data points profiling companies, people, funds, fundings and events. The company claims to have more than 50,000 active contributors. Members of the public, subject to registration, can make submissions to the database; however, all changes are subject to review by a moderator before being accepted. Data is constantly reviewed by editors to ensure it is up to date. CrunchBase says it has 2 million users accessing its database each month.[18]

AOL is in dispute with start-up Pro Populi over that group's use of the entire CrunchBase dataset with apps it has developed, one of which is known as People+. Pro Populi is being represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.[19]

Crunchies

The Crunchies is an award ceremony, run by TechCrunch, which celebrates the "most compelling startups, internet and technology innovations of the year". [20]

References

  1. ↑ "Products & Services". AOL Corp. Retrieved 11 April 2012. Other notable brands under the AOL umbrella include Moviefone, Engadget, TechCrunch, Patch, and Stylelist.
  2. ↑ Fred Vogelstein. "Wired profile". Wired.com. Retrieved 2013-12-16.
  3. ↑ "Techcrunch.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2015-02-21.
  4. ↑ AOL Corporate Blog. "AOL to acquire TechCrunch network of sites".
  5. ↑ AOL CEO Tim Armstrong. "We Got TechCrunch".
  6. ↑ Business Insider. "AOL Insider Says TechCrunch Price Only $25 Million – CNBC Says $40 Million".
  7. ↑ Alexa. "TechCrunch.com Visitors by Country".
  8. ↑ New York Times. "Michael Arrington's Audacious Adventure".
  9. ↑ Kara Swisher, AllThingsD. "Sarah Lacy Debuts New Tech Site, PandoDaily — $2M+ in Funding and Guess Who’s Working for Her?".
  10. ↑ AdWeek. "TechCruncher Quits, Slams New Editor—On TechCrunch".
  11. ↑ "The first TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco".
  12. ↑ "The first TechCrunch Disrupt New York".
  13. ↑ "The first TechCrunch Disrupt Beijing".
  14. ↑ "'Titstare' app at Techcrunch: women in tech deserve better | Amy Gray | Comment is free". The Guardian (London). 2013-09-08. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  15. ↑ Ben Grubb. "TechCrunch forced to apologise over Sydney duo's 'Titstare' app". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  16. ↑ Marcotte, Amanda (2013-09-09). "Titstare app at TechCrunch Disrupt: What would a tech conference be without the sexism?". Slate. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 ‘Silicon Valley’ Fact Check: HBO Nails TechCrunch Disrupt All the Way Down to the Nametags Betabeat.com by Molly Mushine June 2014
  18. ↑ "CrunchBase, People+, and the EFF". CrunchBase. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  19. ↑ "AOL Smacks Startup for Using CrunchBase Content It Gave Away". Wired. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  20. ↑ "Crunchies 2014".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to TechCrunch.