Chris Messina and Tara Hunt: It's still a breakup even if no one blogs it
Web 2.0 wunderkinds Tara Hunt and Chris Messina hooked up, broke up, and now leave their company and a San Francisco magazine profile behind. Can Internet People run their relationships like their businesses?, we're meant to wonder, the tease of a question splayed out against the story's backdrop of conference-going glamor, multiblogged dates, and come-ons delivered in the form of schwag T-shirts. We 100-worded it so you can get back to Twittering about the lover you're not quite ready to leave yet:
Tara Hunt, Citizen Space’s 35-year-old cofounder and de facto camp counselor. Chris Messina. Blond, bespectacled, and borderline brilliant, the 27-year-old exudes a nerdy charisma. In a world not known for its epic romances, ChrisandTara = Web 2.0’s Brangelina. No one ever said living an open-source life would be easy. Hunt and Messina: open not in a exhibitionist way—posts weren’t sexually explicit —but to make a philosophical point. In their work-obsessed world, the business partnership Hunt and Messina built seemed especially romantic. Messina/Hunt’s blog. “And even after working at it for some time, we finally decided today to end our romantic relationship.” “Breakup 2.0." Most common reaction: “*hugs*." The devastated Hunt: "i want / to be touched again / really touched / not poked or messaged or emailed / touched." The need to disentangle their personal and professional relationships had become obvious. Messina: “Information should be open and free and available. Some things should be private.” A glorious reminder.
