There has been a lot of excitement about the OmFest idea. If you’d like to attend or contribute, please fill out this form as soon as possible so we can gauge the type of venue we need.

It’s truly a testament to how Om lived life to see the outpouring of remembrances in comments on the post and around the web on Techmeme.

I do wish he had been more public earlier in his health journey. You never know what you’ll learn. I’ll take that as a lesson for myself if I’m ever in a similar situation.

There have been some great long-form writings about Om:

• John Gruber ties together Apple, the Yankees, and luggage.
• Stacey Higginbotham from the original GigaOM.
• Mathew Ingram.
• The New York Times did an obituary.
• Ben Clymer on Hodinkee.
• Ryan Merket on RuntimeWire.
• Om introduced Krutal Desai as his son.
• Susan Hobbs.
• Pradeep Elankumaran.
• Naveen Selvadurai.
• Christopher Michel.
• Jonathan Gheller.
• Mamoon Hamid.
• Rob Beschizza on Boing Boing.
• Brian Sugar.
• Hugo Barra on how Om got him to write.

I know I’m missing a ton, I’ll update the above. I also added a few more vignettes and pictures to the last post.

 

Yesterday, my best friend and brother from another mother, Om Malik, passed away.

They say that blood is thicker than water, and what we had was way thicker than blood. — Bob Weir

Om’s request was for a small family prayer ceremony. In mourning, that will be all there is. In celebration and tribute, I love that everyone is sharing their Om stories online, like the writing and photography Christopher Michel shared, which very much embody the OG spirit of blogging that Om pioneered.

---

A Renaissance Man

I knew Om contained multitudes, but sitting by his side these last few weeks, I’ve been amazed to learn how many deep and completely separate communities he was part of. He meant so much to so many, in so many different ways.

Om loved putting on a good conference, and I’d like to celebrate his life with an awesome event on September 29, 2026 (his 60th) in San Francisco, like an OmFest. I’ll find a space where every community from the many facets of Om can come together. In the spirit of Open Source and co-creation, we can have some booths, flash talks, a gallery of his photography, pen showcase, and whatever other fun ideas people want to contribute. I can’t wait for the beautiful collision of his tech / journalism / Indian party planner / pen / coffee / shoes / photography circles, and probably some niches I couldn’t even imagine.

---

A Few Vignettes

I have so much to say about Om, but right now I’m working on moderating comments and keeping his website tip-top, so here are a few snippets:

Fundamentally, Om was a lover of humanity. He became a fast “regular” everywhere he went. He wouldn’t just buy coffee, he would also learn the name and story of every barista, the dogs and people in South Park. His deep curiosity and respect weren’t just for the fine and famous. It extended to every soul that crossed his path. His encyclopedic knowledge and photographic memory created connections not just in San Francisco, but all around the world wherever we traveled. (I need to pull the stats, but we went to five continents together, including Antarctica.)

He loved people and their stories.

---

Om and I were an odd couple. We met online through forums and email because Om was one of the earliest adopters of WordPress. We finally met in person in 2004 when I was 20 and he was 38. He connected me to the first investors I ever spoke to, Phil Black, who formed True Ventures, and Tony Conrad, and introduced me to Toni Schneider, my business soul mate, who became like a co-founder as the CEO of Automattic in our first 8 years.

And of course on the internet. I don’t know how we would count, but I would guess Om read at least 1 or 2% of the whole thing.

---

Om was a voracious learner. I was there when he first used chopsticks, and only a few months later, he knew every sushi restaurant in San Francisco and exactly what he liked at each.

---

Om is probably in the top ten in the world for finding things incredibly early. That’s why he has the best usernames! How does one guy get the @om username on WordPress.com in 2005 (user ID 719), Twitter in 2006, Instagram in 2010? The first WordPress meetup was at Chaat Cafe (now Corner) in 2005, 8 people showed up, and Om was one of them.

---

One of the biggest lessons I learned from Om is the deep appreciation of craft. When he took an interest in photography or pens, he would somehow find his way to the most obscure, highest-quality expression of that form. “What Would Om Want?” is a question I will always ponder. I want to craft products that would make Om proud.

---

Om’s last word was “love.”

Nothing Gold Can Stay, by Robert Frost

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

 

Email isn’t dead. Sure, email marketing might not work for everyone, but it’s still crucial for many businesses and personal communication. 

Yesterday, my best friend and brother from another mother, Om Malik, passed away.

They say that blood is thicker than water, and what we had was way thicker than blood. — Bob Weir

Om’s request was for a small family prayer ceremony. In mourning, that will be all there is. In celebration and tribute, I love that everyone is sharing their Om stories online, like the writing and photography Christopher Michel shared, which very much embody the OG spirit of blogging that Om pioneered.

---

A Renaissance Man

I knew Om contained multitudes, but sitting by his side these last few weeks, I’ve been amazed to learn how many deep and completely separate communities he was part of. He meant so much to so many, in so many different ways.

Om loved putting on a good conference, and I’d like to celebrate his life with an awesome event on September 29, 2026 (his 60th) in San Francisco, like an OmFest. I’ll find a space where every community from the many facets of Om can come together. In the spirit of Open Source and co-creation, we can have some booths, flash talks, a gallery of his photography, pen showcase, and whatever other fun ideas people want to contribute. I can’t wait for the beautiful collision of his tech / journalism / Indian party planner / pen / coffee / shoes / photography circles, and probably some niches I couldn’t even imagine.

---

A Few Vignettes

I have so much to say about Om, but right now I’m working on moderating comments and keeping his website tip-top, so here are a few snippets:

Fundamentally, Om was a lover of humanity. He became a fast “regular” everywhere he went. He wouldn’t just buy coffee, he would also learn the name and story of every barista, the dogs and people in South Park. His deep curiosity and respect weren’t just for the fine and famous. It extended to every soul that crossed his path. His encyclopedic knowledge and photographic memory created connections not just in San Francisco, but all around the world wherever we traveled. (I need to pull the stats, but we went to five continents together, including Antarctica.)

He loved people and their stories. 

---

Om and I were an odd couple. We met online through forums and email because Om was one of the earliest adopters of WordPress. We finally met in person in 2004 when I was 20 and he was 38. He connected me to the first investors I ever spoke to, Phil Black, who formed True Ventures, and Tony Conrad, and introduced me to Toni Schneider, my business soul mate, who became like a co-founder as the CEO of Automattic in our first 8 years.

And of course on the internet. I don’t know how we would count, but I would guess Om read at least 1 or 2% of the whole thing.

---

Om was a voracious learner. I was there when he first used chopsticks, and only a few months later, he knew every sushi restaurant in San Francisco and exactly what he liked at each.

---

Om is probably in the top ten in the world for finding things incredibly early. That’s why he has the best usernames! How does one guy get the @om username on WordPress.com in 2005 (user ID 719), Twitter in 2006, Instagram in 2010? The first WordPress meetup was at Chaat Cafe (now Corner) in 2005, 8 people showed up, and Om was one of them.

---

One of the biggest lessons I learned from Om is the deep appreciation of craft. When he took an interest in photography or pens, he would somehow find his way to the most obscure, highest-quality expression of that form. “What Would Om Want?” is a question I will always ponder. I want to craft products that would make Om proud.

---

Om’s last word was “love.”