So today there have been a lot of posts going around about tumblr’s decision to squash the blog of Danish who - until this past week - held the pitchfork.tumblr.com subdomain, in order to facilitate the media company’s entry to tumblr. While there seems uncertainty over the facts that were presented by the original pitchfork blogger, some things have become painfully clear about how poorly tumblr is run. Much of this has been evident for sometime, but I’m going to comment on it because I think it’s rather sad how a community I’ve been part of for over two years is being damaged from within by bad management, poor decision making, and a complete and utter lack of process.
What became very clear today is that a tumblr employee, Meaghan O’Connell, blatantly lied about what transpired on her own personal blog. Pitchfork Media claims they received the green light on their pitchfork.tumblr.com subdomain in about 10 minutes from her, yet she claims the person was given 72 hours to respond to an email acquiring about a (supposedly) dormant account, but failed to respond. Clearly this was a blatant lie on her part because Marc LaFountain responded to Danish’s inquiry about the domain saying:
The URL was claimed by a trademark holder (Pitchfork Media). We didn’t notify you as the URL seemed to be dormant/unused. Sorry!
Marc’s comments may have been in good faith (contrary to Meaghan’s), but also aren’t backed by the facts Pitchfork Media presented. Their president never says they were looking to claim a trademark, and with good cause as it’s nearly impossible to claim a trademark on something as untrademarkable as the word “pitchfork.” But that’s another story altogether, so I digress…
What is alarming to me is the complete and utter buffoonery of tumblr management to allow one of their employees to comment through unofficial channels about the situation, and do so with nothing but lies! What kind of company allows their employees to discuss delicate company issues in public? This lack of process or controls is far more indicting than anything that was said - though the response of both employees is rather pathetic.
Who is actually managing these people? And if this were not a community based around blogs, what company would be okay with its employees making statements on behalf of the company on said employee’s personal blogs?
As a business owner I would never let one of my employees speak on behalf of my organization without my expressed consent through official channels. If this situation happened on my watch in my company, this employee would be swiftly terminated.
But to a larger point, there’s some clear issues that will ultimately hinder the growth and success of this platform, the well-being of the community that surrounds it, and in the process set a trend for social media startups:
- Just because you’re a small business and just because you didn’t learn many of the principles of business in an educational environment does not mean that process and controls are unimportant. Doing it your own way is one thing, but doing it the wrong way is another
- Being emotionally invested in your product is great - but only to a point. When you hire friends from the community to work with you, are you sure they’re qualified? By putting them in such a publicly facing position, you damn well better be sure they are or they could inadvertently ruin your reputation.
- Running a network that facilitates communication requires responsibility. Irresponsible use of one’s own communication platform (see: personal blog) for company purposes is not only unprofessional, but damning of the management’s complete lack of communication, care for such delicate matters, and in the end just plain wrong!
As a young business owner I’ve given some people I’ve known and trusted an opportunity to work with me. But I’ve also learned that can quickly backfire and pulling the plug - while not easy - is the best thing for everyone involved. Not to get personal, but what does a journalism major with no experience belong in a position like this in a high profile startup with millions of viewers? Being objective and seeing your own company not just as your baby, but as you would look at someone else’s company can give you some foresight to make decisions that are best for everyone, not just you as an individual or friend.
Tumblr needs to take a close look at who they have on board, and more importantly their process, controls, and chain of command. Individuality and a loose management style encourages creativity, but can’t do so at the cost of an organization’s reputation or integrity.
Deceiving not only one member of the community, but publicly trying to deceive the entire community by belittling one such member disgusts me. While I certainly disagree with how the Pitchfork situation was handled, I’m more upset that this platform is being run by people who don’t appear to have even the slightest hint of professionalism or business knowledge for some very basic, non-technical aspects that EVERY good business has a grasp on. This isn’t amateur hour, but it sure as hell looks like it.
