Arrington vs. Cashmore: Tech titans clash in Hollywood

(Photo by Robert Scoble)

Last night at the Vanguard night club in Hollywood, there was yet another sign that the Silicon Valley tech scene is taking on Tinsel Town attributes (read: ego, expensive 2,000-person parties DJ'd by Perry Farrell, internecine territory squabbles and--crucially--more and more celebs caught on video).

Blog czar Michael Arrington (above) of the popular technology blog TechCrunch was accused by detractors of ejecting unwanted company from his exclusive Hollywood Boulevard shindig (co-thrown by PopSugar). The outcasts were, specifically, Mashable.com's Pete Cashmore, a young pretender to the tech blogging throne, and the crew from Valleywag, the tech scene's online tabloid.

At 10 p.m., several hours into the party, Cashmore stood outside on the 6000 block of Hollywood Boulevard, surrounded by a small group of lookers-on. He had been surprised, he said, to find himself being escorted off the premises by Vanguard guards. But why? Had he been blogging his rival's event?  Sticking a camera in people's faces?  Stirring up trouble?

"No!" he said incredulously. "I wasn't doing anything!" 

Now the outraged Cashmore was hastily text-messaging and calling several allies who were still inside the parties, hoping to assemble a crowd of supporters before he was interviewed by a TV crew from TechZulu.com (that footage, is, apparently, forthcoming). The interviewer repeatedly asked Cashmore if she could start taping, but he responded that no--he wanted to wait for more supporters to flank him so, "we can get this story right."

This story, Cashmore was convinced, was going to be huge in the tech world. "[Arrington's] blog is one of the top 10 blogs in the world, my blog is one of the top 10 blogs in the world--the tech community is going to go crazy about this."

And he may be right. Cashmore and Arrington are two of the most influential figures in the tech-media culture right now, and this may have cemented their rivalry. In addition to a dramatic premise, these are compelling characters. Both have generated a certain cult of personality: Prince Cashmore with his flamboyance and the good looks of a movie actor, and the imperial Arrington, who wields his tech news scepter with a heavy hand. 

In reality, they're just two guys--but looking around this place and seeing the ratio of geeks to gorgeous women is nearly 1:1, it was clear that this wasn't reality at all.

While the crew waited for Cashmore to inflate his posse to a level he was comfortable with, I ducked back into the party in search of a comment from Arrington himself. Jackson West of Valleywag had tried to do the same, approaching Arrington a few minutes earlier. "But when he realized who I was," said West, "he just turned around."

I managed to find the man of the hour on the balcony upstairs, and was quickly whisked into a booth along with Mahalo.com CEO Jason Calacanis, who was--as usual--broadcasting live video from his Nokia cellphone. Amusingly, this meant that my encounter with Arrington was largely recorded for posterity. You can see it below [we come on screen about 13:30 into the clip].

The conversation begins with Calacanis, himself a sort of tech booster extraordinaire, quickly declaring the story of the night to be how Arrington can come to town and instantly sell out a large Hollywood venue.

That was my opportunity.

"Why is he kicking people out, though?" I asked.

"He only kicked out Valleywag because they're liars and trolls," Calacanis replied.

"Well that makes sense," I said, "but what about Pete Cashmore?"

"He was here?" said Arrington dismissively, before adding, "He might've been kicked out, but I didn't kick him out."

Yet at that same moment, Cashmore was out front telling the story of how he'd been asked to leave by Heather Harde, the CEO of TechCrunch.  So then, if he wasn't actually throwing drinks or tantrums or conducting tech media espionage, how would Arrington's CEO be throwing out a high-profile guest without Arrington's  knowledge?

The possibilities are endless: perhaps Arrington really didn't know Cashmore was being 86'd, and it was an ill-advised decision by a rogue CEO. Or maybe Arrington wanted to have plausible deniability about the shaming of his adversary. Or maybe--and this is the one I like--this was all a histrionic stunt by both of them to gain some publicity for their respective operations. If so, call me a patsy.

While you folks mull this all over, I'm going to get started on the first act of the screenplay, because I'm seeing dollar signs (geeks love movies, remember, and are rich). I'm thinking Colin Farrell for Pete, and for Mike, maybe Javier Bardem?

Turnabout being fair play, you can also watch Calacanis and Arrington grill me on the future of The Times. At one point Arrington says the demise of our institution is "is not a matter of if, but when," and I repeat that to the camera for the record. 

Comments

[cj little]

No PR is bad PR. I'm calling this an inside job by Pete and Arrington. Absolutely brilliant, I just hope I can give most of the credit to Pete.

FWIW, I just saw the two of them sharing a Jamba juice on the corner of Santa Monica and Westmount. I mean seriously, sharing one? They should each get their own...

[Fluffyweb]

Since when has Vanguard become "exclusive"? It's a dump! I'm sure it was chosen to accommodate the large swell of people but please, don't make it out to be a choice location to anybody in Hollywood. Nobody from Hollywood even knew the party was going on.

[john davidson]

If a blogger gets thrown out of a party, but no one cares, does the internet make a sound?

[This is]

I consider myself computer literate... but I have never before heard of
either of these two "world famous" guys. I was reminded while reading
this missive of the "good old days" -- Hedda Hopper vs Louella Parsons!!!

[Conrad Quilty-Harper]

A pic of David Sarno talking to Michael Arrington and Jason Calacanis. http://www.flickr.com/photos/coneee/2412366201/