Is the @Techcrunch and @Engadget drama for real?
Recently there has been some back and forth between Techcrunch founder Michael Arrington and Engadget Chief Editor, Joshua Topolsky. It's a wonderful drama with Arrington accusing Engadget of buying ads to increase site traffic (gads!) and trying to derail the acquisition of Techcrunch by the parent company of both sites, AOL.
Business Insider seems to be running a lot of coverage on this school yard fight, trying to call us all out at recess to watch the slap-fest. While it may be mildly amusing to watch these step brothers duke it out I can't help but wonder if any of this is orchestrated. We really haven't heard anything from AOL and they don't seem to be stepping in to stop the fight.
While this may not be something that was cooked up in an AOL boardroom perhaps it is something they are allowing. The truth is that this public rivalry is drawing attention to both sites...even if it is in a tabloid kind of way.
Personal opinion; Michael Arrington knows what he is doing and has cooked this up to draw attention to Techcrunch (and himself). Engadget just has never seemed like the type of site to bother with this kind of bickering, while Arrington is...Arrington.