Blogging isn't technology? You can't start a company based on writers? Have you not been following tech very long? Blogging is way bigger than Uber and Airbnb combined.
But to actually get to the point you want to talk about, I worked at a startup in 2009 that was a microsoft shop. We committed to some version of .net/visual studio, paid for a bunch of windows server licenses, built multiple data centers, etc etc. So it did happen, at least one time.
I do not think HNNewer implied that what Zalando and Facebook do is blogging, not technology. It's more a pick on OP author's discount of PHP, as it is used by companies, big and small that actually do software.
But to actually get to the point you want to talk about, I worked at a startup in 2009 that was a microsoft shop. We committed to some version of .net/visual studio, paid for a bunch of windows server licenses, built multiple data centers, etc etc. So it did happen, at least one time.