Amanda “unBoomed”?

Everyone’s talking about hiring Amanda, but Robert you should hire Karim at PodTech.net. He’s hilarious.

Another vote for Karim. If he joins, mark me down too.

Watching all of this has been more fun than the Jen/Brangelina triangle I've covered over the past year.

...Hmm, Since Mr. and Mrs. Smith was the cause of Brad and Jen breaking up, I'm putting my money on Scoble as being the cause of Rocket-unboomed.

It all started with that Rocketboom interview Amanda did with Scoble about his departure from Microsoft. You could see it in their eyes. I'm telling you, she's destined for PodTech.

Karim, funny, I'm reading your words on a new MacBook Pro too. But my excuse is that it's Maryam's. Heheh.

Christopher: LOL

Nab: Thanks... you are too kind, putting crazy ideas in Scoble's head...

Scoble: After I got done laughing, I started considering the idea. Part of me thought, "I can't get involved... I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate it. But there's nothing I can do about it right now. And Alderaan is such a long way from here. Er, I mean California...."

Which of course was followed by the wise old voice in my head saying, "That's your uncle talking."

I suppose the next step would be for me to come back from Starbucks to find the charred corpses of my only remaining relatives just outside the smouldering remains of my apartment. "Aunt Beru? Uncle Owen? Aunt -- OH."

And to top it all off, I'm typing this on a Mac. What's happening to meeee...

Apparently it's like, National Crazy Idea Week or something. But I'll put your phone number in my mobile and think about it... :-)

she is funny :D

http://bmw7.wordpress.com

Yup - dirty laundry is dirty laundry... even if it is meant the clear the air, people will always remember your dirty laundry.

Amanda would be GREAT on a reality television show - those are basically just produced versions of dirty laundry, which is so far what the unboomed blog is as well.

You know what, if she owned 49% of Rocketboom like she said she did, she should have just gone the legal way and made sure to reaffirm her position on this. She should have issued a reserved press release, not a personal letter with refutations incldued by her. It doesn't look professional and makes me think that there probably is a lot more going on that will ever be revealed.

That's a good point Dennis.....Future employers are watching how this plays out and it will always be in the back of their mind how she posted private communications on a blog for thousands of people to read. I understand her desire not to be the bad guy, but I'm not sure posting that letter was the wisest thing to do.

I'm with Michel on this - would you employ someone who chooses to put out an internal dispute into the public domain? I certainly would not - doesn't matter how poplar they are. Makes them dangerous to the business.

Mudslinging and fighting in public is always a distasteful affair, and as a disinterested onlooker (rocketboom? who cares?) I can only say that there are at least two sides to every story and the truth is usually somewhere in the middle.

ps. Did you really expect anything else from Digg? It's full of 12-16 year olds.

Nab: that's the best idea I've seen in this thread! Karim is, indeed, hillarious! Hey, Karim, you interested?

Everyone's talking about hiring Amanda, but Robert you should hire Karim at PodTech.net. He's hilarious.

what I really want to do is DIRECT

Well the best DGA types are also WGA types, imho. Just no “film by” credit or the WGAw will REALLY take you out back and shoot you. ;)

If Fox News covered it, Amanda-style...

CUT TO:

INT. PODCAST DAILY NEWSROOM STUDIO - DAY

A NEWS ANCHOR, decked up in an impeccably slick $1000 suit and tie, is shuffling papers, acting hurried, very stern looking. Plastic bass-beat breaking news music in background, collects papers together and looks to the camera...

NEWS ANCHOR:
Breaking news. This just in. Stand by for a live feed.

REPORTER:
(decked up in neon greenish pink outfit, chewing gum)
Whoa, the red light is on, like ok, like wait, cantyouseeimbusy. [20 second pause] Ok, so, like, yeah, like see, this Amanda, like wants to like, goto LA and become a movieeee star, so like, she, like, totally, like bailed, like on camera. And that other dude something, like doesn't like LA, like gag me with, like, a spoon, like I mean, no duh. But, like, Amanda don't, like, have, like no no job. So might not, like, be in, like LA, like bummer. But like a buncha blog total dweebos want like Amanda for, like, their, like nerd stuffs, like totally gaggy tubular. Like, gag...

The more I read the first-party letters, the uglier it looks. The timing for this unraveling is no coincidence. Sometimes transparency is a self-inflicted gunshut wound.

I like Amanda, she has a certain je ne sais quoi when she delivers the news. RB definitely needed her more than she did. Just look at last week's vlogs, I watched a few of them, but they were missing something.

#9 As homer simpson would say: "Hey, how 'bout that?" Well, at least they get as many viewers as MSNBC. I'd be curious to know the demographics of those "viewers". I.e, do they have any money to spend, or are they wankers in their basement watching "charismatic" hosts?

So, she was on CSI, huh? I would submit that 99.995% CSI viewers on that episode had no idea who she was, and likely thought her just some two-bit struggling actress that got a minor break.

You example is like saying Phil Hendrie got his gig on a summer replacement show because he was a popular radio host.

#38 You can't excuse it by "being the nature of linen". Surely you looked in a mirror before going on camera. That was a rather lame explanation. I agree with Angel,the outfit was distracting from the message. Take a hint.

Amanda posts some recent correspondence between her and Barron on her blog--her take on what has transpired:

http://digg.com/tech_news/Amanda_Sets_the_Recor...

Thanks for the update, mario.

It's still not making complete sense. Why would Andrew agree to move the show to LA, then change his mind? Why does Andrew's letter read like a goodbye, yet Amanda says "you fired me?" Why does Andrew say that Amanda said she was moving next week, when Amanda says she can't move because she doesn't have a job? Should the issue go before the United Nations Security Council? And just who was the bug in Chuck Olson's photoessay, anyway?

SPOCK: Sensors are picking up undergarments with traces of fecal matter.

MCCOY: You mean they're airing dirty laundry.

SPOCK: I believe that is what I just said, Doctor.

Damnit....UPDATE #6 came in as I was writing that.... and it clearly shows that they WERE thinking of going bicoastal.

Oh, and additionally:
I don't know if I buy the "she wanted to go to LA and I wanted to stay in NYC" story either. Andrew, and Amanda for that matter, are too smart not to have seen the HUGE opportunity to take Rocketboom bicoastal. Send Amanda to the west coast, have her send footage back east while pursuing whatever she's pursuing, run Rocketboom out of NYC headquarters, get a new east coast anchor and run stories from both sides of the country. This would be a GREAT format, and another first as far as I know.

That'd be the real new media.

UPDATE #6

http://amandaunboomed.blogspot.com/2006/07/for-...

What's funny about this whole thing is that the amount of speculation surrounding the news would have been the same if it were the news media covering the story instead of the blogosphere.

There's no such thing as facts anymore.

Everyone always says "There's two sides to every story... and then there's what really happened." It used to be that journalism was about that third part there... but now, I'd prefer to read blogs for because at least I enter into it expecting people's opinions.

*blush* Thanks for the compliment...

I thought WGAw would take you out back and shoot you for abusing stage directions the way I do? No? Hmmmm...

It does come in handy at times. Sure, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players" -- but what I really want to do is DIRECT. ;-)

Dang, Karim...classic lines there, nice style. You a LA WGAite type?

I should start snarking in screenplayese...

"Angel" wrote:

"...it also irritates me when I’m watching a video podcast of a woman (the latest vid that Cali Lewis posted) who is wearing a shirt that is practically see-thru and clearly shows her bra."

Nice ploy to drive traffic to your web site, Angel . LOL Oh sure you signed your message as "Angel" and not "Cali Lewis," but we can see right through you. (Or at least your shirt.)

Uh, that would be the nature of linen. I'm not "showing my bra", but this isn't the place for that. Send me an email (geekbrief @ gmail.com) and I'd be happy to respond.

It irritates me to read sexist comments about women in tech, but it also irritates me when I'm watching a video podcast of a woman (the latest vid that Cali Lewis posted) who is wearing a shirt that is practically see-thru and clearly shows her bra.

podtech.net will have trouble snapping her up with Calcanis asking her how many suitcases of cocaine she'll require and what name she wants on the back of her yacht.

Or was that yachts.

[author sits down in front of map]

And in other news, scientists have discovered that a chemical, m-phenylenediamine 2,4-diaminoanisole sulfate, commonly used in blonde hair dye, causes laboratory rats to migrate to Los Angeles. The lead investigator for the study was quoted as saying, "We don't know why they do this," adding jokingly, "Perhaps they're seeking a tan."

The lead investigator for the study urged caution in interpreting the results, stating that the effect did not necessarily occur in humans.

I'm not Amanda Congdon, and this is not Rocketboom.

[author flicks page of copy into camera lens]

[roll credits]

Oops, I had my wrong web site.

BTW, it's hard to take weblogging seriously when its become nothing more than cults of personality that thinly overlap.

I would say this is publicy for Amanda as she tries to position herself for the 'real' world of entertainment. If she just pulled out like that, I wouldn't want to hire her.

See

http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/07/05/and...

She should be at PodTech.net

No brainer for her.

this is totally the internet version of the star jones/barbara walters spat from last week... oh, except this won't be on the today show, entertainment tonight, etc. because most people just don't care.

From reading the Internet, it would appear that this video is the first the partner saw of this.

If everyone would put down their conspiracy theories, all this is, is what happens all too often when a couple with a shared set of friends splits up - one tries to get their version of events out first, gets their accusations out first, make themselves the innocent party first, in order to cause fractures in this set of friends' relationship with the other party.

And it looks like you gullible bloggers have fallen for it hook, line and sinker.

Personally, I don't get vlogging like this anyway. Is it not just exactly the same as public access TV, the form of TV which was quite rightfully shunned by all and sundry and left for the freaks?

I'm pretty sure there are a thousand out of work actresses who would be eager to replace her and do a far better job.

Cali, thanks, so you feel like the Valleywag guy, huh? I should send that to Nick. That'll get you wagged for sure! Heheh.

Oops, sorry, JD! You posted that while I was posting mine. :)

Geek Brief TV has Andrew's side of the story:

http://media.podshow.com/media/365/episodes/864...

Cali just posted a both sides story on Greekbrief.TV
http://geekbrief.podshow.com/gbtv-0040-geekbrieftv

I blogged the exact same idea Robert that Amanda would be a good addition to podtech.

Robert,

I hope you're snapping her up for Podtech, in your first day in your new role ;)

Surely John can make another irrefusable offer? ;)

Nice to see you at GD.
K

The only time rocketboom was remotely interesting was at the begining. I can't think of a single show over the last year thats not been complete trash.

BB, but she does have a nice set of archives! Have you checked them out?

IMO, Amanda was Rocketboom and it seems like Andrew needed her a lot more than Amanda needed Rocketboom or Andrew. I'll continue to follow Amanda wherever she may land. Not sure I'll do the same with Rocketboom unless they hire someone as cool and fun.

Over the past little while, Rocketboom was turning more into the Amanda show and less about the content. Some of the local reporter slots were just not interesting and it felt like they were phoning it in much of the time. When Amanda was acting wacky and speaking off the cuff, the show was interesting.

I saw an episode of rocketboom once to see what the hoopla was about. Found it boring...and uninspired.
So a few months later I watched another episode again.
Haven't looked there ever after that.

Probably I can't see greatness when I see it :)

Call me a cynic, but I assume she wanted to move to mainstream media.

Don't be a hypocrite, Scoble. You made this sexist comment after meeting her in person:

"Seriously, she [Amanda Congdon] has a nice set of, um, archives!"

This will be a text book tale of key personnel risk (online or offline) - When the "star" becomes as big or bigger than the brand, what happens when the star walks voluntarily or otherwise?

Amanda was Rocketboom to its viewing public. Whilst the rocketboom brand has high recognition in the online space, repeating its formula (similar to a band finding a new front person) will be incredibly difficult with a new face - in contrast more front people tend to have successful solo careers.

Unlike some other recent departures in the online hall of fame to pastures new, she is probably one of the few "online" names that could cause a collapse of the underlying business.

Whilst few really know what's actually happened as yet, I suspect that this will prove an excellent prompt for many companies to put in place mitigating measure against being similarly caught out.

Amanda - thanks for being so entertaining.

I love how all the nerds call Amanda "charismatic", which is just nerdspeak for "not ugly".

Amanda has been bi-coastel for a while now, so that must have lead to all this...

This reminds me of when Scoble left Microsoft. Both he and MS lost relevenace in the blogosphere, and so too shall Amanda and Rocketboom.

Amanda's official web site includes headshots and "glamour" shots. Her resume doesn't mention searching for the Higgs boson at CERN, but she does have some nice pictures (e.g. http://www.amandacongdon.com/photo/swimsuit.jpg) You're supposed to hire her, at least in part, *because* she's good looking. So if there are sexist comments, should anyone really be surprised?

Amanda made her farewell video in the interest of "transparency," but what I find curious is that nobody in the blogosphere seems to know exactly what the hell happened. Everyone's just scratching their heads right now. Amanda is making out that she was fired, but supposedly Andrew didn't know anything about it. One guy is posting that they were romantically linked; another guy says that's wrong. The few people who do know are making pithy, mournful comments or posting cryptic, wordless photoessays up on Flickr.

And as I write this, Andrew Baron just posted that it was all really because Amanda suddenly needed to move to L.A. this week.

http://www.mathewingram.com/work/2006/07/05/andrew-baron-responds-to-amandas-video/

Which, by way of explanation, makes about as much sense as posting pictures of bugs and flowers.

So, Robert, maybe you should start a soap opera called "All My Podcasters" or "The Days of Our Blogs" featuring the pointless and acrimonious relationships between geeks who are great friends and suddenly become enemies when their egos get to be too big. You can feature Amanda and Andrew, Calcanis and Denton, Winer and Curry... the show will write itself! Maybe for the theme song you can get the rights to "Money Changes Everything" by Cindy Lauper.

[author sits down in front of world map]

And in other news... Andrew Baron has just announced that, starting Monday, July 10, 2006, Dan Rather will be taking over the helm at Rocketboom. He'll be starting a series of reports on how Karl Rove shirked his responsibilities in the Texas Air National Guard, complete with 100% Genuine Real Forged Documents. Dan will also introduce a new Karl Rove Drinking Game® in which forged documents look more and more authentic as you drink more and more alcohol.

I'm not Amanda Congdon, and this is not Rocketboom.

[author flicks page of copy into camera lens]

[credits roll]

Eddy: you might not have heard, but she had about 300,000 daily viewers, was featured in many magazines, and was on America's #1 TV show, CSI.

Correction: Amanda Unboomed is not a new vlog. She has been posting video there since January 2005.

Why is everybody leaving? Is the new dotcom area starting now? I shall quit too!

Who cares? Seriously, I have never even heard of Rocketboom until this post. Now everyone is blogging about a breakup? Give me a break.

Happens in Radio all the time.

Gosh, tho, the bubble burst before it even started, she musta got something real Hollywood in LA. Good luck to her, LA is the promised land. But too funny. I actually think her airheady wackiness could work with a more professional kick-up.

So I guess now you need something else to hang your hat on per podcasts great success levels. ;)

She was an awful inteviewer. Actually, I can't think of anything nice to say about RocketBoom aside from the fact that they got in on the ground floor with vlogging.

Well said, Robert... I am also upset about the comments on Digg. Amanda is such a wonderful person with a lot of potential, and it makes me sad to see people putting her down. Five bucks says it's millitant Ze Frank fans ... they can be brutal.

Casey

I suggested her to take a couple of weeks of vacation to clear her head of all theses things... I've experienced an unhappy departure from my workplace a few years ago, and I know how mixed up one can feel emotionally.

When she comes back online, she'll rock.

And be it on podtech or anywhere else, she'll be fine.

In the meantime, let's wish both Andrew and Amanda the best of luck.

brem of martinbreton.com

She could be quite the catch for PodTech.net, Robert.