Who is this guy who will tell someone else how to run their company?
No management directives were given in the original article, nor my comment. For all we know, this "business model" is being forced upon Mahalo given the present economic climate.
Although I think it unlikely, Jason himself may not feel he has any other option and is being forced by the other investors in the company down this revenue path.
I urge you to read the original article and the previously posted comments on this thread for the full context of Mahlo's behavior and Mr. Calacanis' response. It's the double-speak and clearly disingenuous ignorance of his response which is the crux of the matter.
old-fashion publicity trick
We're both participants in a public online discussion regarding the behavior of the CEO of a company which, at least for me, I can say I have no legal vested interest or direct financial dealings.
Fundamentally, this is between Mr. Calacanis, the management of Mahalo, and Google.
We're both mere spectators. By replying personally, Mr. Calacanis chose to make this a personal public issue--in both the original article & this forum. That's entirely within his purview. I'm sure he's experienced enough to know the potential ramifications of those actions.
How do you consider yourself not caught in the "middle" when you potentially change your view about someone based on one source?
And keep in mind Squidoo was not automating and scraping on the scale that Mahalo is today. So Mahalo is far worse.
I find this a little tough to buy. I thought the concept of "human-powered search" smelled a little funky from the beginning. In fact, it smelled so funky that I was really surprised that well-respected VCs invested in it. I figured there had to be something in the prospectus that wasn't in the public marketing.
I bet (with at least 99:1 odds) the number is closer to 0 than it is to 10 when you back out the ~ 100 contractors around the world.
So then what is really human powered about the Mahalo scraper site?
I also bet Jason is surprised at how much I know about his business model. :D