This is an open letter to Techcrunch in a last-ditch attempt to bring some sanity back to the main blog in the startup sector!  

Duncan you wanted great new startups to write about, but I find your filtration process a little screwed up. TC writers are much more likely to feature a company that's been funded (albeit) with no real chance of getting into the black, than a little application that (maybe also) has no way of making money itself, the only difference is the former has funding and the latter has evidently more creativity and worked allot harder to get a final product (challenged by having hardly any resources). Either that or you cover clones, and tittle-tattle around the likes of FaceBook et al.

Many of your readers are all little guys (mostly I presume also developing startups) that admire you and desperately need some recognition for their own efforts, even if they don't get rich - that someone like TC comes along and says good effort guys, that's probably enough to keep them in beer and good spirits for another year.

'Baby It is it's cold out there', there are millions of wannabe startups (99% of which will get little if any rewards for their efforts). Most of whom plod on with a shoe string budget and hope that they will make the grade or at least get some kudos for their efforts which is sometimes worth more to them than money (maybe I'm talking about myself here?).

However, I see an increasing number of negative comments about the quality of the editorial coverage on TC and given the increasing number of readers you have, your feedback figures (I.e. comments per post) are dwindling just as you readership figures are doubling... Odd that!

I understand you're probably sick to death of the general public by now (I would be) for all their constant attacks. Alas for all the flack you take I cannot help thinking you would do better if you all came back down to the lower (innovative) levels and expanded the TC format and terrain with new sections and features to cover the ground floors.

My advice to Techcrunch is as follows.

Solution No.1 Best new startup application... A new section with daily submissions (where your devotees would submit their little startups / applications) these (after review) would all be published, allowing a small description (150 words say), a link (no-follow), and a picture. Then the readers (who are bothered) vote them up or down. The top 1-2-3 (whatever) would be featured the next day by a staff writer on the TC main-stage. The object would not be to find the next big money maker, but rather an exercise to spread some encouragement back into the many many players who add so much innovation and receive so little in return.

Solution No.2 Best news story of the day from a guest writer... Allow guest writers more often, (many of your readers would like to publish stories occasionally). Have a similar section to above where guest writers could submit articles for inclusion and after review you could publish them allowing your readers to vote them up or down, the top 1-2-3 (whatever) would be featured the next day on the TC main-stage. To illustrate the power of this, we only need look back to the 'how to go viral post from a guest writer' and the followup, the huge response both articles received in the comments and ensuing debate it started, the likely increase in traffic that article alone brought in for your sponsors, all undoubtedly added value to TC and the community as a whole.

Solution No.3 Allow ratings on every article... Add a rate this story box on every article published and let the readers vote / filter out bad writers, you will be able to aggregate the data and extrapolate the bad writers and stories more clearly. Publishing the aggregated data live would also put the pressure on and make the game more interesting. Opening up new positions when necessary and holding your contributors to account for the quality of their articles.

I think these ideas would bring to Techcrunch much needed new content and give your loyal readers hope and enthusiasm to continue to partake. Thus allowing Techcrunch to develop into a real WEB2.0 company and help avoid the many pitfalls WEB1.0 has already succombed too.

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