TechCrunch’s Arrington Takes a Break

After having his life threatened and getting spat on in public, Michael Arrington will step down from his online podium for some rest.

Being a highly visible and influential tech pundit can be rough business. Ask TechCrunch’s well-known founder Michael Arrington, who, after an abrasive run-in at a recent conference in Munich, Germany, has decided to call it quits for a while.

In a detailed post on TechCrunch, Arrington tells the story of how he was recently spat on at a conference in Germany, which became the last straw in a long line of abuse he has endured as part of his site’s rise to prominence. Arrington also cited a barrage of nonstop criticism from competitors, and a previously little-known threat to his life last year that had him holed up at his parents’ house for days in fear.

“I’ve decided the right thing to do is take some time off and get a better perspective on what I’m spending my life doing,” Arrington wrote. After finishing up coverage of the World Economic Forum this week, Arrington plans to drop off radar next week and for much of February while he spends some time away from the trade.

But has covering tech hasn’t totally lost its appeal for the 38-year-old.  “The problem is that I love what I do when I’m not hiding from some crazy f*****who wants to kill me or being spat on by some unhappy European entrepreneur we didn’t write about,” he wrote.