My Om Malik Story
After learning of Om Malik's passing, Jim Nielsen recalls how in 2021 the tech writer and Gigaom founder unexpectedly DM'd him on Twitter with kind words about his blog, encouragement to meet his writing goal, and praise for the open web. The message left a lasting impression on Nielsen, serving as a reminder of the power of small acts of kindness on the web.
Background
- **Om Malik** (1966–2026) was a hugely influential tech journalist who founded **Gigaom**, a pioneering blog and media company that shaped how the tech industry was covered from the mid-2000s onward. He was an early champion of the open web.
- **Jim Nielsen** is a web developer and blogger who writes about design and technology — a much smaller figure, which is central to this story's point.
- The piece recounts an unsolicited, encouraging DM Malik sent Nielsen in 2021 after Nielsen set a goal of writing 72 blog posts. Malik's kind words — from a giant to someone who barely had an audience — left a lasting impression.
- Malik's death has prompted many such remembrances across the tech community, highlighting his generosity and his belief in the value of writing publicly on the open web, beyond algorithms and big platforms.