Summary

Gruber curates tributes and anecdotes from colleagues, admirers, and friends of Om Malik, the pioneering tech journalist who recently passed away. The post gathers voices from Joanna Stern, Casey Newton, Fred Vogelstein, and others whose careers Om shaped, collectively painting a portrait of a man defined by warmth, intellectual curiosity, and improbable generosity. A separate thread covers Om's relentless early persistence — three years of rejections before cold-calling his way into Forbes — establishing that his character was consistent across his whole life. The closing anecdote, from which the post takes its title, crystallizes everything: Om spent four days researching a thoughtful reply for a stranger, then signed off 'Exactly Like Om Malik' — a callback to a joke from their first meeting years prior. Gruber's curation is the tribute; he lets chosen voices do the work.

Key Insight

Om Malik's singular quality was that his generosity scaled in the opposite direction from his fame — the bigger he got, the more he reached down to strangers, answered their emails, and remembered their jokes.

Spicy Quotes (click to share)

• 2

  Sitting on a bench with Om could be quasi religious. He talked so softly and deliberately that it forced you to slow down, lean in and forget about everything else.

• 2

  Generous with his time. Honest with his feedback. Endlessly encouraging to those coming up behind him.

• 6

  Never name a blog after yourself.

• 1

  Om seemingly read everything.

• 3

  It's rare to meet someone who is ready to debate you on almost any topic, but who's also genuinely curious about your life and your opinion.

• 2

  I was gobsmacked at the generosity he had shown replying to someone he didn't even know.

• 2

  'It was destiny,' said David, with a self-deprecating laugh. 'It was total destiny.'

• 5

  Yes, exactly like Om Malik.

Tone

elegiac, celebratory, curatorial