When not calling out Reddit moderators (“for leading a Boston marathon witch hunt”), giving the virtual middle finger to Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, and antagonizing Anonymous, Gawker blogger Adrian Chen is firing shots at others among the powerful. A recent (and favorite) target is TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington whose ex-girlfriend (Jenn Allen, founder of online art gallery RTist.com) has–very publicly–accused him of abuse. (Chen’s on Arrington like Dominick Dunne was on OJ.) Chen’s mom once said Gawker is “too mean,” but that hasn’t stopped her son from baring his formidable teeth on the site. Hey, just because you’re a not cuddly doesn’t mean you’re not right.
Where did Chen formulate his unique combo of outrage and the outrageous? Must have been either at the progressive, non-conformist Reed College, or on YouTube. Before swimming among the sharks in Silicon Valley, Chen was a YouTube sensation. Okay maybe sensation is grandiose: he was a YouTube success. With a full dark beard, Chen hilariously portrayed a potty-mouthed, patch-obsessed Girl Scout willing to do “anything” for a patch, and a male TV game show contestant who takes a Green Party pacifist out on a blind date to a shooting range. (They hit it off.) All Chen needs now is a platform that can sustain his investigative writing and on-camera comedic charm. The Adrian Chen Show on Gawker TV?
