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What we need is a Friars’ Club for the internet

4 comments on What we need is a Friars’ Club for the internet

What we need is a Friars’ Club for the internet

: I got an email pitch from Always On to join up and pay up for the priviliege of getting its print magazine and getting discounts to its events. And that was fine — if hauntingly familiar — so far. But then I read on to the pitch for the first event:

As an example, all AO Insiders will be invited to a members-only Churchill

Club affair on November 9th for the Top 10 Trends in Technology Debate,

featuring John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins and Bono’s new investment partner,

Roger McNamee. You will also be invited to the Yahoo campus on December 8th

to watch my live interview with Chief Yahoo Jerry Yang at a private dinner

for 300 insiders.

Web 2.0 ruined the appeal of that. John Doerr was an utter ass on stage, refusing to answer questions, playing coy for no reason, revealing nothing, boring the audience. And Jerry Yang, though a terribly nice guy, really has nothing new to say. Reverential interviews and panel discussions with these guys won’t get a dollar from me. On the other hand, what if we started a Friars’ Club for online with roasts of them (and a few others I can nominate). Now that would be entertaining.

4 responses to “What we need is a Friars’ Club for the internet”

  1. Tom Avatar
    Tom

    I absolutely second that motion. Received the email as well. I know it’s good for conferences and other events to have people who are “hot” or “relevant” to speak, but let’s be honest, doing something like this right after these people have been seen by a similar audience doesn’t really work. Oh well.

  2. tony Avatar
    tony

    Always On, you mean the site that got Michael Powell to “blog” when they just ran two of his columns?
    I wonder why they didnt name drop the FCC Chairman in their pitch to you?

  3. Brian M. Dennis Avatar
    Brian M. Dennis

    Inside a major media enterprise, Wired say, someone should start a clandestine operation to take potshots at the techmedia A-list and assorted hangers on. Pick on people like Dave Winer and Doc Searls. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel. You could fire once a day and retain that blog like veneer, but keep costs down. Maybe hire one or two postmodernist, but still hot chicks, to write for the site. You could run it easily with one person, two tops.
    Somebody get to it!! Where’s Denton and Calcanis when we need them?!
    No smilies for the humor impaired.

  4. ZF Avatar
    ZF

    Dead right on, especially about Doerr at Web 2.0 (which was otherwise excellent). He was a total waste of time.