Weblogs Founder Calacanis Leaves AOL

The often outspoken and controversial founder of the Weblogs blog network who sold the startup to AOL last year has resigned following the exit of CEO Jonathan Miller. Jason Calacanis confirmed Friday that he would be leaving the ISP over disagreements on the future of the company.

Calacanis in an earlier post on his Web log lamented parent company Time Warner's decision to oust Miller. "Miller is not a brash self-promoting CEO, and maybe that worked against him a little," he wrote. "However, he turned this ship around and built a kick-ass team. The numbers don't lie."

A day later, he posted a confirmation of reports in the New York Times and Techcrunch that he was indeed leaving. "I'm not inclined to start over with a new guy," Calacanis told the New York Times. "I'm perplexed. Why now?" he said of the decision.

News of Calacanis' departure is not that much of a surprise. He had said recently that he was considering leaving AOL to start another company, and the departure of Miller, which he called "one of the few mentors I've had in my life."

In responding to the rumors of Calacanis' departure, noted Internet pundit Om Malik expressed both disappointment at the news, and confusion over why Miller had been replaced in the first place. "AOL might have lost one of the handful of people who were outspoken enough to shake AOL from its polite slumbering ways," he said.

"Not many saw eye-to-eye with Jason, but most agreed that his heart was in the right place."