Ahh, now we’re seeing what Microsoft is thinking of doing with Xbox as a media-distribution platform (Microsoft is announcing TV programs and other video shows distributed onto your Xbox). My question is: can I watch Lost? I don’t have a TV hookup, so I have to either wait for IP networks to get it (and I ain’t gonna watch 640×480 on iTunes, that’s too low a resolution) or I have to wait for NetFlix to get it on DVD. We just finished watching the second season of Lost. I want to get the third season of Lost for a reasonable price. In HD of course.

In addition to Christopher Coulter, Jeremiah Owyang, Hitachi Datasystems’ top corporate blogger, just announced that he’s coming to PodTech too.

I guess this is a good chance to announce that we’re looking for a videographer and a video editor to hire too.

It’s going to be really great working with Jeremiah and Chris. Jeremiah is someone I’ve admired for a long time and put together an awesome Lunch 2.0 event. He’s going to be a great addition and can’t wait to see what he does.

Oh, you going to CES in January? We’re hosting BlogHaus I there in the Bellagio — it’s gonna be a fun place to hang out. That is about to get a whole lot more interesting. If you’re going to CES, drop me a line and let me know where you’re staying.

If you’ve been reading here for a while you know that Chris Coulter doesn’t exactly see eye to eye with me. He’s been the longest-running commenter on my blog, dating back to my days when I worked at NEC — most of those comments have disagreed with a position I’ve taken.

That’s why when he stayed at my house a few weeks back it raised eyebrows.

So, why hire someone like that?

Well, the side of the story you don’t see when he comments here is that he’s sent me more news than anyone else and he’s been consistently good. He has contacts all over the place and is what I call an “invisible influencer.” Someone who loves trading information with other people.

Podtech needs those skills as it builds out the news department. You might not see his name on a podcast, but you’ll feel his presence as he gets us to focus on the breaking stuff.

Second, he has video skills that I saw but other people wouldn’t have recognized. He helped run a wedding business, but was sending me lots of other stuff over the past few years, including lots of news about equipment and non-linear editors.

Third, he has writing skills. If you’ve ever suffered one of his barbs, you know that he can be quite persuasive with his writing. He’s also edited books, articles, and I’ve read a few of his screenplays and found his writing to be compact, insightful, gripping, etc. I’ve always wanted him to blog, while thankful that he wasn’t out there competing with me.

Fourth, if I’m going to grow as a manager and as a leader I need people I work with who see the world differently than I do. Translation: who can tell me I’m full of it. Why is that important? Well, beyond keeping the ego under check, it’s where great ideas come from. For instance, look at Irina. She doesn’t write with the style I use. Doesn’t see the world the way I do. But she came up with the Vloggies. Having diverse ideas on a team is important and brings better ideas.

Fifth, in person he’s a lot more fun to hang with than he comes across in the comments here.

So, he’ll help with editing my show, coming up with some new ideas (I’d love to do a “TechCrossfire” show with him, but not ready to announce anything like that), he’s gonna work on doing a blog for PodTech and help the news group set its priorities, and help do some other video shows and segments.

Anyway, that was my secret that I’ve been keeping a while. Glad to have Chris aboard.