Om Malik has died

Oh wow. What?! Just this morning I had an occasion to go thru his site/blog.

Still can't believe it. 60 is too young.

I met Om finally in 2013-ish at one of his GigaOm events in the SF Bay Area. Before that, I had been a long time reader of his GigaOm blogs and other writings at Fast Company, Red Herring, Light Reading, and elsewhere, including his book Broadbandits. He was one of the few bloggers / reporters who wrote it as he saw it; his takes were often brutally honest and pointed. He called upon the excesses of various telecom execs during the dot-com and telecom bust of 2000-2001/2. His book Broadbandits is basically an invective of the go-go days of telecom companies' incestuous deals (now seen in the AI companies too).

I had a few more occasions to meet him at dinners around the Bay Area. He was always gracious, and listened intently to what people said. As a venture partner, he focused on the people (founder) and their stories much more on the businesses.

I had heard about his troubles with his heart (~age 40-ish), which made him turn his life around to focus on only a few things that brought him joy - writing, photography, travels.

He will be missed. RIP, Om.

--- (Update: the book is Broadbandits (not Telecom Bandits, as I mistakenly wrote)

GigaOM was truly awesome at its best. Om was a special guy, I met him a few times during my years in the Bay Area. He really embodied that selflessly-helping side of the Valley: helping others with no expectations, just because it’s good. He helped one of my startups get some exposure. I keep trying to pay it forward. I will miss him.

"I like to write like a human, steering clear of jargon and B-school speak."

https://om.co/about/

https://om.co/2020/07/30/write-like-a-human/

I still remember him being one of the best writers about tech (a bit more than "journalism" in that a lot of it was of more evergreen value...) from the dotcom boom and then the peak "interesting" web apps period (2004-~2015 or so, when AJAX/etc was still new, and things hadn't calcified so much). Didn't know about his later health issues, I assumed he had just moved on to other interests naturally. RIP.

I started out as journalist so I always appreciated great writing when I reinvented myself as a tech entrepreneur. There were three writers beginning in the nineties who were my tech troika: Kevin Kelly, George Gilder and Om Malik. Sadly now the only one still writing regularly is Kevin Kelly.

I liked the mid-2000s, gigaom and techcrunch actually had articles worth reading (not all, TC got sorta gossipy rag at one point). Om's were generally well thought out.

> Malik was also a frequent guest on the former CrankyGeeks podcast with John C. Dvorak.

That takes me back, he was always great on that show.

Really sad. I grew up reading his writing. I emailed him some thoughts on one of his blog and he immediately replied in a lovely way very recently. What a shock and a loss.

Oh, bummer. I only met with him once - a mutual friend put me in touch with him. He was wise, gracious, and generous with his time. Bon Voyage Om.

Om had grace, and will be missed by many.

My condolences to family and friends. Om writting has always been a reference since Web 2.0 era. Also enjoyed his photographabout friends and travel. Sad news RIP

Om, rest easy brother!

Oh my God. Oh no. Rest in peace :(

Enjoyed his writing/commentary on all things tech over the years...

Very sad to hear.

He had a great creative spirit between business ventures, writing and photography.. a man of many talents.

Om was a bright light and so very kind. RIP

Very sad news. :(

May he rest in peace.

:(

One of my first ever freelance clients, his site gigaom. This was back in 2009-10. RIP

In my head I mistook Om Malik for Rami Malek, the actor. I was confused a couple of seconds ("What does it have to do with HN?") until I saw a picture of Om. I didn't know about his troubles with his heart. Very sad, RIP Om.