It’s your business
Yesterday, while I was on a panel discussion at LeWeb3 talking about the future of video something happened that discussed my future. I was driving the computer during the panel discussion, demonstrating bleeding edge video technologies like Seesmic and Kyte on stage when someone wrote in my Kyte.tv channel’s chat room that I should check out TechCrunch. So, in front of everyone I pulled up the post. You’ve probably read it by now. It said simply: Scoble to Leave PodTech, Heading for Fast Company.
I’m sorry I didn’t break the news here on my blog, but breaking it in front of thousands of people at a major industry conference is OK too (Arrington, who wrote the post, was in the audience) because people got to see my real, unfiltered, reaction.
UPDATE: I didn’t know that Arrington was going to post about it then. Dave Winer was sitting next to him in the audience and gives his point of view.
I told everyone that it was true that I had decided to leave PodTech, but that Fast Company hasn’t been signed yet and that I’m still considering two options, one of which is Fast Company. My last day there will be January 14th. I am working on a number of PodTech initiatives, including the CES BlogHaus as well as a Blogger Bus Tour to CES from San Francisco to Las Vegas which is sponsored by Microsoft (more on the bus, as well as how you can get a seat, next week when I get back into the office).
So, what will happen on January 15th? I told the audience at LeWeb that things haven’t been wrapped up yet. I have two options I’m considering on the table and will announce what I’m doing on January 15th.
How did it leak? Well, I needed advice between these two options and so I ask my friends to give me advice (actually, Rocky and I have been thinking a lot about this and have turned down a half dozen other options). I talk too much, which is my downfall, but also I got some world-class advice from people all over the industry.
Why didn’t I blog about it? Because I had family and other committments between the panel and now (it’s currently 2:24 a.m. and we’re packing to come home now).
Why not be transparent on the blog? Wasn’t that the lesson of Naked Conversations (our book that studied how 188 businesses used blogging)?
If you read Naked Conversations you’d know that we don’t recommend putting everything about your life on your blog. We even have a whole chapter about people who’ve gotten fired because they put inappropriate things on their blogs.
Certainly discussing career moves on a blog is inappropriate if you don’t have a clue what moves you’ll make (staying at PodTech was always on the table as one of the options until a week ago, for instance, when Rocky and I made some decisions about what would be best for our careers going forward).
Why not stay at PodTech? PodTech went through a lot of managerial chaos earlier this year and I was trying to help PodTech get to profitability and help it get some focus, business wise. You’ve seen some of those moves already as PodTech has moved away from an editorial focus and toward an corporate media development one, which is where much of PodTech’s revenues (which are in the millions per year now) are coming from. That’s a decision I helped PodTech make and I think they are good ones and will help it avoid the TechCrunch Dead Pool. Companies need a lot of help creating media, so PodTech has a pretty good future opportunity ahead of it, which is why its investors continue to support it.
When did I make this decision? In the past week. I know that back in October I said I wasn’t going to leave PodTech, but a lot has changed in that two-month period. PodTech’s new management team has been working together a lot better, and the direction it’s been going is different than it was back in October.
Now that PodTech is getting some focus I found that my show needed a new home in order for it to get to the next level, too.
Before I go on, I want to thank Seagate for sponsoring my show, which enabled me to interview more than 300 people over the past year or so. Looking back at that year it’s amazing how many people have come in front of my lens.
I’m a geek, a user advocate, and enjoy doing my show more than anything else in the world other than hanging out with Milan, Patrick, and Maryam. This week I got to do all three together in Paris thanks to Loic Le Meur, and I’ll always be in his debt for that. I’ll also, too, always be in debt to PodTech and John Furrier for hiring me and encouraging me to do a daily video show and giving me the resources to do that.
I’m also seeing significant changes to how you all interact with each other. Over the past year we’ve seen Twitter, Facebook, Kyte, Seesmic, Ustream, Justin.tv, Pownce, Jaiku, and quite a few other technologies get popular.
This interview with Mogulus’ CEO and Chris Pirillo’s pioneering efforts with his own live TV channel played a key role in getting me to see that there’s a new kind of TV channel possible — one that’s participatory instead of one-way — and one that would be very low cost and potentially have high revenue possibilities compared to the cost.
Remember, you don’t need a large audience to make a lot of money in this industry. I used to help edit a computer magazine, Visual Basic Programmer’s Journal (which later became Visual Studio Magazine) and that only had 100,000 subscribers, but millions in revenues. I also love the Demo series of conferences. There the audience (usually more than 1,000 people) pays more than $1,000 each to attend and everyone on stage pays $18,000 to present to that audience.
Another thing that opened my eyes? The Google Open Social press conference where I had the only video, thanks to Kyte.tv and my cell phone (they had asked for me to leave my professional camera in the car — funny that’s a story I’ve heard several times, including on the panel discussion yesterday where Jeff Pulver showed off video he shot on a small pocket camera of the recent Led Zepplin concert. He told the audience that Led Zepplin wants to buy his photos and videos because they were better than the professional ones).
At the Google Open Social press conference, instead of doing “professional journalism” and cranking out an article like other bloggers and journalists in the room I opened up Twitter and started telling people what I was hearing. Then I listened to them and asked questions during the press conference that they wanted answered. It changed how press conferences should be done in my eyes forever. Add streaming video, like AMD used the other day in another press conference, and things would be dramatically different.
Which gets me back to the headline I used here: it’s your business.
I’m watching how Loic Le Meur is building Seesmic by including the community into every decision he makes. His software doesn’t have the most features out there (Kyte.tv beats it by a mile, particularly on the mobile phone side of things, which is why I love Kyte so much) but Le Meur is building up a ton of love in the community for his approach.
The participants are in control there. It is your business.
I’m tired of getting used by companies who just use and use and use without giving me anything in return. I remember three years ago when I first heard the words “user generated media.” That term still pisses me off. I’m not a user, I’m a participant. I actually love it when Christopher Coulter calls it “loser generated media.”
So, whatever I do next will place that philosophy at the center. It is your business.
One other thing: I really have hated not being open and transparent the past year. Whatever I do next will have to put up with me talking with my friends, telling you openly what’s going on in the business and in my life, and we’ll build something fun together where we’re all equal participants. Our Photowalking series gets damn close to what I’m thinking of. It’s not lost on me that our videos in the photowalking series has more comments per video than the average ScobleShow videos do and those generally have more comments than other PodTech videos do. That’s media made by participation, not by some committee or some gatekeeper or some “A list blogger” somewhere. But using the newest technologies we can even bring participation in a photowalk to a whole new level. Justin.tv demonstrated that to me.
How will we make revenues? Well, there’s a variety of companies that are leading the way in participatory philosophies: You know, those that design products with their customers, or treat their customers as participants the way that Loic does with Seesmic. HP, for instance, is bringing its customers into help design its products. I saw a laptop at HP that was partially designed by a customer. A participant. HP is far from alone in leading that charge as well.
So, anyway, thanks for all the nice notes and let’s talk again about this on January 15th after I make my final decision and start my show down a new path.
Oh, and in late January I’ll be going to the World Economic Forum, where we’ll kick things off.
Powered By 
December 12th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
Nice post. Good luck with the decision. Just keep Maryam, Patrick and Milan happy!
Rob
December 12th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
[...] #2: Scoble shares his reasons behind the decision to change. You should read it, it’s quite revealing and [...]
December 12th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
All the best to you and Rocky.
BTW, it was great to meet you in person the other day during the WSJ printing press tour and I hope we meet again soon. Rgds, Sameer
December 12th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Good luck Robert’o. Always play offense.
December 12th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
change is good. good luck.
December 12th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Good luck to you Robert. My hope is to get to know you better over time. Maybe you can expand your circle as well :)
December 12th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Good luck!
December 12th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
Best of luck with the decision on where to go next Robert. I have no doubt that no matter what it is, it will be interesting.
December 12th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
I wish you luck, Robert. Frankly, I think you should just strike out on your own. If anyone has the following to make that work, it’s you. But while I understand you’re loyalty to PodTech, I can’t see how this company will survive let alone thrive enough to justify the investment in it. Corporate communications? OK, sure, there’s a need. But there’s also a million established players. PodTech, mostly through you, gave companies an audience for those communications. Without you and without the audience, I can’t see how PodTech will be more than another producer/packager/distributor of corporate infomercials. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just not a business that deserves VC funding and lots of hype.
December 12th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Good luck Scoble, hopefully the decision will come easy for you.
December 12th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Best of luck! Sounds like some exciting changes. As a consumer of (and sometimes participant in) your content, thanks for taking the risks and experimenting in ways that help generate new experiences, new formats and new philosophies.
December 12th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
I can certainly understand your not making all of this public. Not everything in our happening in our lives needs to be blogged, twittered, etc… I’ve really enjoyed your work at Podtech and will certainly follow you at your new post, wherever that may be.
Cheers!
December 12th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
All the best of luck and success to you in your next venture, whatever it is. One of the things that you’ve really done successfully is to keep this blog as your unique space, no matter who your employer is, and that will work to your benefit in the future.
The only thing you could announce that would disappoint me would be that you were shutting down this blog. As long as you’re not doing that, I will look forward to the future.
We may not always agree, but you do make me think. :)
December 12th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
Hey Robert. Best of luck on whichever path you choose. It was a good run and glad we got to work together for a period of time. Cheers!
December 12th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
Karoli: shut down my blog? Heh!
Thanks Eddie and everyone else for the kind words.
December 12th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
Robert, best wishes in your new direction. It’s wonderful you’ve continued to put community building at the forefront of your efforts.
December 12th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
Let us know when you will be putting up a new team together!
December 12th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Greg: that’s advice that a LOT of people are giving me and Rocky. Thanks!
December 12th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
[...] Robert Scoble (former Microsoft blogger, PodTech employee, and co-author of Naked Conversations) has… about his decision to leave PodTech and some of the possibilities about where he will wind up after January 15th. He has always been open and sharing with his ideas and I have enjoyed hanging out with him at several conferences. Whether he winds up at Fast Company or somewhere else he will still be a champion for participation and technology. Here is one of his latest videos revealing the much hyped tool from twine.com. [...]
December 12th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
If you don’t mind my saying so, Robert, I don’t understand why you don’t just go out on your own. You could easily be a consultant to startups as well as to big established companies. You could go all the video and photo stuff for free, but get paid when you talk behind closed doors about this or that.
For example, Amazon could have paid you to look at the Kindle design before they started manufacturing.
I’m sure you’d make a ton of money AND you could write off all your video and travel expenses, since it’s meeting with others in the industry that informs your consulting.
Anyway, just my 2 cents. Good luck with whatever it is you do.
December 12th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
[...] UPDATE - Robert has posted his side on his blog “It is your business“ [...]
December 12th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
Good luck whatever you choose to do.
I’m not sure about living one’s life digitally all the time. I know you don’t do that with your personal life, and I don’t quite see doing it in your professional life either.
December 12th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
So are you denying the implication I made from your Facebook post? :)
December 12th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
David: what implication is that?
December 12th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Robert, I’m glad you’re talking about it. But I think you have a lot more than just two options, and I hope Fast Company doesn’t win. I think you would be an extremely valuable free agent, and that you could be courted by the top hardware/software and media firms out there. Rather than rush to conclusion, if Maryam and the kids can handle a little uncertainty, why not look around?
December 12th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
Good luck, go robert go.
December 12th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Brilliant post Robert. You live your life in the open, and lead in terms of internet lifestyle. Best of luck, and keep being you!
Colin
December 12th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
How unbelievable. The dogs and I decide to watch a random half hour of Le Web 3 and it turns out to be your panel and I am there in my bed watching you make your announcement!!!!!! That ROCKS! I am so glad you and Rocky are a team. I believe with Greg that you could do it on your own, but I respect your wish as a husband and father not to do so right now. More important:
Any way I can help, I will help. See you in HMB over Xmas and then at CES. Much love.
December 12th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
[...] Scoble is leaving PodTech. Doing something else from mid-January 2008. [...]
December 12th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
well I really liked your work at microsoft
all the best on whatever you decide on 15th Jan looking fwd to your post about your decision
why do i get the feeling it will have a lot to do with videos, channels ;) and maybe a bit of mogulus too ;)
December 12th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
Robert,
Since you asked in #24 here’s the link:
http://www.daviddalka.com/createvalue/2007/12/12/scoble-leaves-podtech-for/
December 12th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
Good luck, Robert! I’m sure you’ll be successful in your next venture as well. :)
– Steve Cherrier
December 12th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
I think that its great that you and Rocky are sticking together as a team. That you are in a position to consider options together and that you are leaving on your terms.
ok, kids are climbing on me, I will leave it at that
December 12th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Interesting post Scoble. It will be fun to see what you end up doing.
December 12th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
[...] yes anyways, Scoble will be leaving PodTech on January 14th and currently has 2 offers on the table that he is [...]
December 12th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
I have been following the “Scoble Story” since your early blog days at Userland… it’s been a great ride and I always liked your approach and your approachability, a real guy that blogs, reads and answers comments and emails and is taking chances with what he believes are the “right” things to do…
So kudos for many yeara of sharing with us what you were up to, and “bonne chance” for many, many more!
December 12th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
[...] then, Scoble has confirmed his decision on his blog: My last day there will be January 14th. I am working on a number of [...]
December 12th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
I for one, have been noticing you’ve been somewhat “quite” in the last few weeks on Twitter, Google Reader Shared and stuff…
First of all, I like that you keep your family ahead of everything else! That’s really smart and the best choice you could do! If the whole web comes tumbling down, you’ll have your family…
On the move, I believe you’ve weighted your options… repeatedly! So I know you won’t be moving lighthearted. And I believe that whatever move you make, you symbolize a movement of user-contributed media (not generated). The interaction between me, a simple geek with not much time or focus, and you, an a-list blogger who focuses on pushing the limit of the new media, is something that makes me love the web the way I do. I can ask you questions and know that if they are relevant in any way, you’ll very likely reply! (Twitter helped you a lot on that ;)).
I just wish you all the best, and I’ll keep an eye on whatever you’ll be doing… I can certainly both enjoy it (I’d love to take one of those Photowalks one day ;)) and learn!
I won’t say “I’m fan” because I don’t know if that’s the appropriate term, but I’m certainly an “appreciator” of what you do!
:) Good Luck Scoble
PS: And I agree the blog doesn’t necessarily need to be the first place you write about something… especially personal stuff! :) But thanks for your openness on this one… ;)
December 12th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Good luck Robert - I’ll be eager to see whatever’s next for you.
December 12th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Robert, Good luck with your next move. The vision you are describing seems pretty well aligned with what Loic and Vinvin talk about with Seesmic. May be you should join them and help drive Seesmic on the moon!
December 12th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Hi Robert–
I wish you and Rocky the best on the next leg of the journey.
Counter to the folks saying to go it alone, I actually see the value of your continuing on with an organization of some kind. It allows you to noodle instead of having to chase the business ends all the time. I love that you find places that support your pursuit of these new efforts, and that you can let them all worry about the annoying stuff while you lab up some interesting new ways to make it all useful.
So, this is a vote for going with a team.
The ONLY reason I’m even entertaining the notion of going to CES is because I read that you were doing the CES BlogHaus lounge thing, and I liked that last year. Screw the show. The energy is over there at the lounge.
Best to you and the fam. Safe travels.
December 12th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
Ok, so kids are in bed now. What I wanted to say was, whoever you work for, may you have flexible office hours and a tiny commute :) and that however long you work there may you always move up when you move on :) Those are my words of blessing to you.
December 12th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Robert,
You are my inspiration and the bellows firing my passion for new marketing. I also know that decisions made at this point in your life are heavily influenced by the fact that you have a family that you need to provide for. Good Luck and Godspeed.
December 12th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
[...] Scoble wrote an excellent post, discussing his decision to leave PodTech. As you can make out from all the posts on Techmeme and [...]
December 12th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
I love that you and Rocky are sticking together as a team. I admire your work and look forward to seeing what is next; what new doors will you open to us readers?
December 12th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
Robert,
I’m so glad that you and Rocky are sticking together and heading on a new journey. It will be fun to see what you land.
I’m looking forward to more Photowalkings and sharing drinks on the 18th hole.
Best of luck to both of you.
December 12th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
[...] of the biggest names in video shows, Robert Scoble announced he’s leaving PodTech, while on stage at LeWeb3. Actually TechCrunch posted first stating he [...]
December 12th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
Agree with all the positive comments about you and Rocky sticking together. You guys are an awesome team. Fantastic vision for getting more participation, can’t wait to watch and learn as you make new discoveries on your new adventure!
December 12th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
Hold out for a sufficient level of bling…
December 13th, 2007 at 12:39 am
hello
checked the scoble show for the first time.
would really like to watch it regularly. very interesting.
im from india on a 256kbps internet connection.
whatever ur doing next, pls try to include a lower bitrate version of the video so that a lot of people in india who have 128kbps speed can watch ur videos/podcast without having to wait for buffering.
thank you
December 13th, 2007 at 12:53 am
All the best for the future Robert and Rocky. You make a great team.
December 13th, 2007 at 1:04 am
Best of luck on your next adventure. Why not write freelance and start your own product?
Take care
December 13th, 2007 at 1:25 am
[...] Robert Scoble Sets Course for His Future I enjoyed reading what Robert has learned over the last 1+ years while at podtech and the impact of new tools on new media. Both his “participants” and “constraints” comments really point to the freedom required to be successful. (tags: robertscoble blogging podtech newmedia PR) [...]
December 13th, 2007 at 1:28 am
Hey, congrats. Yes, you are a crazed tech-marketing goofy ADD blogger, that’s more than half a dull tool, always backing the wrong side, but as a person you are a good nice guy. The more you keep your split personalities separate, so much the better.
December 13th, 2007 at 1:29 am
congrats!
December 13th, 2007 at 1:53 am
Congrats to you, Scoble, on a new gig. People like to diss you a lot, but I’ve always found your blog insightful at best and at the very least an entertaining read.
Also, to be a bit pedantic, it’s “Led Zeppelin,” rather than “Zepplin”. Wouldn’t want Jimmy Page to put some kind of curse on the ol’ Scobleizer, now, would we?
December 13th, 2007 at 2:28 am
Exciting times! Best of luck for your next move!
December 13th, 2007 at 2:46 am
Good luck Robert - you have practiced what you have preached for some time and have helped a lot of people get the gospel of good online tidings. I’ll look forward to seeing you at the CES Bloghaus !
December 13th, 2007 at 3:22 am
above all keep the photos coming..
December 13th, 2007 at 4:02 am
A loss for Podtech. A gain for (?). Keep you banner flying high smart boy.
December 13th, 2007 at 4:32 am
I know you’ll land on your feet no matter what bud. Rooting for you!
December 13th, 2007 at 4:52 am
[...] article while still on stage, with his screen projected for the whole audience to see. Good stuff! He talks about it on his own blog too, and Dave Winer also chips [...]
December 13th, 2007 at 5:23 am
[...] By Sue Robert Scoble is leaving his gig at PodTech. The announcement was very public; not at all like most corporate moves, which strive to stay [...]
December 13th, 2007 at 5:41 am
Its time for Continuous Partial Transparency ;)
http://www.broadstuff.com/archives/601-Continual-Partial-Transparency-and-other-Blogomenons.html
December 13th, 2007 at 5:52 am
Hey - wherever you end up on 1/15/08 - you have an audience that will follow you. I wish you the best, and I know you are going to do well no matter where you ultimately end up.
Rex
December 13th, 2007 at 6:30 am
I’ll join the chorus of those advocating striking out on your own. I used to “work for the man” (e.g., we shared a past employer). Once you’ve built up enough industry credibility and experience, working your own gig is the way to go. The biggest thing you (or your wife) will miss are health benefits but you can always pay for that yourself. It’s not that big of an obstacle. My hunch is we share an affliction I call “business A.D.D.”. Constant change is much easier when you aren’t working for the man. Good luck in whatever you choose!
December 13th, 2007 at 6:37 am
[...] Scoble makes an interesting point about how many businesses view their customers online: “I’m tired of getting used by companies who just use and use and use without giving me [...]
December 13th, 2007 at 6:43 am
[...] zijn huidige werkgever PodTech zal verlaten voor Fast Company. Opgenomen op le Web gister middag. Hier zijn uiteindelijke eigen reactie op zn [...]
December 13th, 2007 at 7:14 am
Hi Robert. I posted a video of you commenting live on stage in the Techcrunch comment section plus a verbal recatie.
It was great meeting you. Good luck on the new venture.
http://rapidstage.wordpress.com/2007/12/13/scoble-comment-live-op-techcrunch-nieuws/
December 13th, 2007 at 7:15 am
Thanks for walking us through this, Robert. Amazing to me that you are not upset with the news leak, and that someone thought more of making headlines than of keeping a discussion with you private.
Good luck to you and your family.
December 13th, 2007 at 7:31 am
[...] The rumor that broke on techcrunch about Robert Scoble leaving Podtech quickly became the rumor of the day next to blognation calling it a day. Now that rumor is true, and that is that Robert Scoble is leaving podtech to go do other things. The rumor had him pegged to go to fast company, but according to Robert, the deal isn’t signed yet. I told everyone that it was true that I had decided to leave PodTech, but that Fast Company hasn’t been signed yet and that I’m still considering two options, one of which is Fast Company. My last day there will be January 14th. I am working on a number of PodTech initiatives, including the CES BlogHaus as well as a Blogger Bus Tour to CES from San Francisco to Las Vegas which is sponsored by Microsoft (more on the bus, as well as how you can get a seat, next week when I get back into the office). Source: Scobleizer [...]
December 13th, 2007 at 7:50 am
I like beans
December 13th, 2007 at 8:35 am
It all began with a blog……good luck Robert, Joyeux Noël.
December 13th, 2007 at 8:56 am
Robert, thanks for the kind words about HP! Its a whole new dynamic these days and we are excited to be a part of it.
Tom
December 13th, 2007 at 9:10 am
[...] Scoble (qui e qui). Su questo blog: “Verso i behaviour based media“ Explore posts in the same [...]
December 13th, 2007 at 9:12 am
Hi robert
Best to you , Maryam Patrick and milan, and keep up the good work and life wherever you go.
Merry Christmas.
December 13th, 2007 at 9:18 am
Congrats Robert, see you on the 29th and at CES!
December 13th, 2007 at 10:07 am
Good Luck Robert! I enjoy your fresh - and, yes sometimes wacky - perspective. It’s all about the journey . . .
December 13th, 2007 at 11:51 am
Congrats on the soon to be announced new job (if you call what you do a job you lucky son-of-a-gun!!). I am very curious as to where you are going and what you are going to be doing. I too am (if everything goes as planned)changing jobs in Jan ‘08 and am in the same boat that I can’t announce anything to my friends until the deal is sealed (nothing as interesting as your job but a nice pay raise). Stay in touch (^_^)
December 13th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
“Add streaming video, like AMD used the other day in another press conference, and things would be dramatically different.”
Robert, we’ve been doing live audio and video streaming for years. Not only that but we’ve been doing it with the audience not only watching live but participating in multiple chat rooms, asking questions of our guests and responding in kind to our questions.
Bottom line is, it ain’t “a new thing”. :)
December 13th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Robert, if you need any advice on doing a blog tour, ring us up. We did a 10,000 mile trek from NYC to San Francisco to the Inman RE Connect.
http://www.blogtourusa.com/
December 13th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
So, what you are saying is the ability for a cell phone to capture video is the tipping point? Cuz I gotta agree with Shawn. This aint a new new thing. Nevertheles, good luck whatever direction you decide to go
December 13th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
[...] shaky startup is PodTech which Robert Scoble has been creating video podcasts for. He’s reportedly leaving the company in 2008 for greener pastures. He’ll be fine, but PodTech speculation will surely [...]
December 13th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
[...] It’s your business « Scobleizer — Tech geek blogger Robert Scoble gives us the background to his future career plans. Is this any of our business? Perhaps the fact that TechCrunch leaked it in the middle of LeWeb3 makes it so… (tags: blogging scoble) [...]
December 13th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Ron: hmmm, I haven’t seen anyone else use a cell phone to broadcast video live and also to use it to interact with a chat room before Justin.tv did just that this year.
December 13th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
that’s why I asked if you viewed the cellphone ad
as your distingushing factor
December 13th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
My guess is that Steve Jobs will introduce you as Apple’s new PR guy, since the MacWorld keynote is on January 15th.
December 13th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
[...] is a bit from his blog post on the matter: I told everyone that it was true that I had decided to leave PodTech, but that Fast [...]
December 14th, 2007 at 2:11 am
[...] Robert Scoble wechselt seinen Job. Man möchte meinen, als Blogger gibt er dies auf seinem Blog bekannt. Aber als amerikanischer A-Blogger hat man noch eine andere Möglichkeit: Man nimmt an einer Podiumsdiskussion teil, und wärend man gerade seinen Desktop auf dem Beamer hat, reagiert man auf die Aufforderung: “Hey, schau mal bei TechCrunch vorbei”. Wo dann zufällig die Nachricht vom Transfer in den Schlagzeilen ist. [...]
December 14th, 2007 at 6:09 am
Best of luck to you, Robert — you are a talented guy and in this day and age often talent goes unrecognized and unrewarded.
While I don’t comment often, I do read your writing and find a lot of inspiration here for my own humble stuff.
Margaret
December 14th, 2007 at 9:36 am
[...] ad maybe these have been posted already but i didnt see them:Scoble is going to Fast Companyhttp://scobleizer.com/2007/12/12/its-your-business/and Long posted the new apple xmas [...]
December 14th, 2007 at 10:42 am
[...] Robert Scoble Sets Course for His Future I enjoyed datum what parliamentarian has scholarly over the terminal 1+ eld patch at podtech and the effect of newborn tools on newborn media. Both his “participants” and “constraints” comments rattling saucer to the immunity required to be successful. (tags: robertscoble Blogging podtech newmedia PR) [...]
December 14th, 2007 at 11:07 am
tl;dr
December 14th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
[...] later: A couple of days late, but here’s a link to Robert’s post on his departure from PodTech. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Scoble rumor - Robert may join a, OMG, [...]
December 15th, 2007 at 8:59 am
Always nice to see another MS escapee doing well. I’m developing a theory that our years inside the borg are some kind of penance, and we are now being rewarded for the pain and suffering.
Don’t go out on your own — burrow inside some big company, annoy the hell out of them, and move on. It’s worked for me, it can work for you — again.
December 15th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
[...] House December 13th, 2007 | Category: Tech Talk It’s all about traffic. See here how TechCrunch “reported” that Scoble was leaving PodTech, doing so while Robert was actually on [...]
December 15th, 2007 at 6:56 pm
[...] owe you) the community aspect and participant creativity is evident (I like Robert Scoble’s preference for the term “participant” over “user” in relation to social media). There [...]
December 15th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
[...] battle of the exclusives is being fought over Robert Scoble’s future. If anyone has any juicy Ed Sussman stories - please send them to me or Robert - before he signs with… If Robert knew what I know…. well he does! I told him! We all love Robert and wish [...]
December 16th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
[...] a major industry conference. Full detail Robert Scoble’s farewell to PodTech can be read in his blog. Technorati tags: Podcaster, PodTech, Famous Blogger, [...]
December 17th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
I was hoping you’d go and join Sun Microsystems. I think they are doing some of the most innovative computer systems work today and it would be fascinating have you roaming around with your video camera talking to all of those smart engineers.
Regardless, good luck with whatever you decide to do next!
December 17th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
[...] Conversations” — and felt he knew enough to take the chance on a startup. Now he is leaving PodTech as it struggles with a new business focus, and he might end up at Fast Company, according to [...]
December 17th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
[...] Conversations” — and felt he knew enough to take the chance on a startup. Now he is leaving PodTech as it struggles with a new business focus, and he might end up at Fast Company, according to [...]
December 18th, 2007 at 4:40 am
[...] article while still on stage, with his screen projected for the whole audience to see. Good stuff! He talks about it on his own blog too, and Dave Winer also chips [...]
December 24th, 2007 at 1:22 am
Robert –
Lifecasting is by far the most open platform you’ll ever use, as you’ve noted by your observation of Justin.TV.
If you truly want to be transparent, then I challenge you to lifecast 24/7 for at least a month. I’ve done so since May (until recently — took a break) and the experience of listening to and engaging people from around the world has been priceless.
The next step of course is how to turn these conversations with my blog, podcast and lifecast into a decent living — Something I hope to finally figure out in ‘08.
January 3rd, 2008 at 2:10 am
[...] There’s only a few more ScobleShows before it closes forever. If you missed the news and my reaction last month, it’s worth recapping that Rocky Barbanica and yours truly are leaving PodTech [...]
March 23rd, 2008 at 4:29 am
You know, I always had alot of respect for Rob, but personally I think this is insulting. “I hated not being honest and open for the past year…”
Good Lord, you’ve made your mark as the guy at Microsoft who was honest and open, and now we find out you’ve been bullshitting for the past year, and everyone thinks it’s just fine? Not me - I’ve lost alot of respect. On the one hand you way it’s a snap decision reached a week go, and on the other that you’ve spent a year misleading the readers. Smacks of false advertising.
I know, I know, got to put the family first - except Rob’s reputation is built on openness. If you’re not going to be completely upfront, your reputation suffers. Alot.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:12 pm
[...] ears even stopped ringing. Meanwhile, the band’s album sales are way up. Tech somebody Robert Scoble is leaving PodTech next month just like Fake Steve Jobs predicted. Classmates.com deep-sixes their [...]