Saturday, January 3, 2009

Looking for the successor to FuckedCompany


During the dot-com bust of 2000, FuckedCompany.com – a Web site devoted to tracking tech company layoffs and closures – achieved considerable notoriety. It was the place to turn to for the inside scoop on tech firm downsizings and failures.
Mainstream media referred to the Web site as F***edCompany so as not to offend their sensitive audiences. FuckedCompany had an abrasive style and sponsored a “dot-com dead pool” where readers tried to predict which companies would fail.
FuckedCompany shut down a few years ago when traffic to the site dried up during the tech resurgence, company founder Philip “Pud” Kaplan said in a recent blog post.
Now with the U.S. mired in its worst economy in decades, other sites are stepping up to cover the struggles of tech firms during this recession.
FuckedStartups is similar to FuckedCompany in the way it chronicles failed and troubled tech companies, relying heavily on rumors and tips via e-mail, instant messages and contacts in the field.
Screwdd is another Web site seeking to be the heir to FuckedCompany. It’s largely a news aggregator, posting summaries and links to other news sites.
Another site, Timely Demise, tracks closures in the retail sector. A Twitter site called themediaisdying focuses on layoffs, failures and changes in the media industry.
TechCrunch tags its business failure stories deadpool so they can found in one place. And LayoffBlog.com doesn't limit itself to tech, covering corporate layoffs more broadly.
With all the job losses and business failures, there are lots of opportunities for scoops among this new crop of Web sites.
Rumor sites lately have been abuzz about pending big layoffs at Microsoft. Fudzilla says 15,000 workers could be let go when Microsoft announces the cuts on Jan. 15. That would be almost 17% of the company's work force. The company’s MSN online division likely will be the hardest hit, Fudzilla reports.

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