Why we’re going to FastCompany.tv

Uncategorized 7 Minutes

Ahh, Andy Plesser broke my career news again (he was the guy who broke my news about leaving Microsoft too). Louis Gray got the story first, though, I think, although I told dozens of people at the BlogHaus last week at CES.

First of all, thanks to John Furrier, James McCormick, and the entire PodTech team. I grew a lot over the past year due to the opportunities they gave me and that turned into hundreds of interviews on ScobleShow.com.

Wednesday (today) Rocky Barbanica and I are moving to work for Mansueto Ventures. They are the producers of Fast Company and Inc. magazines. What will we be doing? Helping to build a new, interactive, online video community called FastCompany.TV which will open on March 3.

UPDATE: Here’s the official Fast Company press release and Lynne Johnson blogged about it here.

UPDATE2: Andy Plesser, this morning, interviewed my new boss, Ed Sussman.

Back when my career moves were leaked over on TechCrunch I said I was considering another option. What was it? Starting my own business. Here’s why I chose FastCompany.tv instead.

But, first let me back up and talk about what I’ve learned about the media business. Here’s the four things you need to have to see success.

  1. Content. This should be obvious, but you’ll see where I’m going with this point later. Key here is to make content that no one else has. Content that’s better quality. “Special” in some way. Gets viewers access to something they couldn’t otherwise get access to.
  2. Revenues. If you don’t have them, it’s hard to buy cameras, lights, microphones, or take the time to do things right. Yeah, you can bootstrap for a while like Rocketboom did in its early years, but at some point if you don’t have cash coming in you’ll need to find a real job and stop working on media production.
  3. Distribution. If no one sees your videos you won’t get revenues, so getting viewers/participants is key. Now, you can either get viewers by doing stunts (like Gawker Media did at CES) or you can get it by making deals to distribute your videos into places that have high viewership. Revision3, for instance, has reportedly made deals to distribute its videos into several airplane video systems. Mansuetto’s magazines have more than a million readers, which will make it easier to get people to come visit the new network.
  4. Scale. The SuperBowl has all the above three, right? But the place it really makes sense? Is part of a network. Why? Because then there’s more for audiences to engage with than just one football game a year. Also, there’s economies of scale since the camera crews can work on other stuff while they aren’t working on the Super Bowl.

As I considered job opportunities I kept these four things in mind. Could the new company we’d join deliver on all of these? How about working for myself? Could I be successful? Both Mike Arrington and Om Malik (and others) urged me to start my own company. But, when I looked in the mirror I just didn’t have that passion for doing it all myself. Why not?

  1. I don’t love doing much except for interviewing and blogging and my family. I’ve run the books at UserLand Software. I hated that. I’ve tried managing people at PodTech and found that I wasn’t particularly interested in doing more of it (which is one reason why Rocky’s going to play a key role in the development/production of the network — it’s important that we build a strong team, but I’d rather focus more of my energies on getting great content than on finding and keeping great people).
  2. Building a diverse set of income requires a sales crew and attention to client happiness. It’s one thing to take care of one sponsor. It’s a whole nother thing to make magic happen for a wide range of sponsors. That takes a team of professionals. I don’t have the time, nor the skills, to build a world-class sales team and if I took the time that’d cause me to take my eye off of doing my videos, which would be the life-blood of the organization.
  3. Setting up a business requires a ton of other tasks. HR. Banking. Invoicing. All the other drudge work that takes time away from doing interviews, going on photowalks, reading feeds, hanging out and networking with industry leaders, etc that leads to great content.
  4. Doing a business is stressful on everyone involved. Om Malik’s heart attack had an impact on me. So did Marc Orchant’s death. Life is too short and if that means I leave a few million on the table because I gave up equity in my own thing, so be it. I’m happiest when behind a camera talking with someone like Doug Engelbart or taking Patrick, my son, to MacWorld. Anything other than that I’m going to outsource, ala “the Four Hour Workweek.”
  5. Brand extension is hard when running your ass off to build your own business. For instance, I want to build communities that lead to interesting events. But if I did my own business, running an event team would have to wait until I got my business on solid ground. That could be a year or more. That would mean opportunities lost. Fast Company and Inc have awesome event and marketing teams — I’ve been to their events and if I wanted to build a team like that it’d take capital, time, and talent that I don’t have.
  6. Getting access to things, when running your own business, is tougher. Yeah, I can get access to a lot of things, but did Steve Jobs invite me to attend his keynote at MacWorld? No. If I was part of a bigger team with a more established brand, would it be more likely that I’d get invited? Yes.

So, why FastCompany.tv? Why not something else? Several reasons.

  1. Fast Company (the magazine) has seen a resurgence in the past year. The content has gotten better. Ad sales were way up. They have new offices in New York City (I won’t be moving, rather staying in Silicon Valley).
  2. The editorial team at Fast Company and Inc. Magazines is getting cover articles that few others are able to get and the whole team will drive a lot of great content that’ll show up on my show and on the network.
  3. They have invested in a major new social networking site that’ll be revealed soon. Fast Company was one of the first magazines with a social network, called “The Company of Friends” and the new site, built in open-source Drupal, excited me because of the distribution and community it brings.
  4. They are working on a new magazine aimed at startups, too, which obviously I’m interested in.
  5. They have a sales team that’s already successful in selling to clients outside the tech industry (getting diversity is important to protect independence and also to bring fresh approaches to events and advertising).
  6. They liked my participatory style of video better than other companies and want to expand it. Excited about technologies like Qik, Kyte, Seesmic, Mogulus, DotSub, etc. Other people/companies I talked with had blank stares when I talked about these technologies and how they might change the media business.
  7. They have a tech team who understands how to integrate various Web technologies together. My column’s page on Fast Company , for instance, has a calendar from Upcoming.org and a feed from Google Reader integrated into it along with video interviews and other things. We’ll expand that kind of integration on the new network.

FastCompany.tv is not just me. They made a commitment to getting a great lineup of other stars in the industry to be part of the network — my show won’t be the only one on FastCompany.tv and we’ll be adding more shows even after our March 3 start date.

Anyway, what’s next? FastCompany.tv will start on March 3. Between now and then we’re working on finding some great content (I’m working with editors of the magazines, as well as looking for the hottest emerging tech companies along with leading business executives/strategists and visionaries). I’ll be going to the World Economic Forum and then to LIFT in Europe to find stories that are outside the United States and the “tech bubble.”

We’ll have lots of surprises too, and will be stepping up the quality of my shows — Rocky’s already working on that as we speak. But most importantly I haven’t seen a business network that treats viewers as partners. See, most of the TV (either mainstream, like CNBC, or “new” like that from Revision3 or elsewhere) treats viewers as, well, viewers. The thing is that the new technology lets you PARTICIPATE with the people who are in front of the camera. You got a taste of this while I was walking around CES with a cell phone and you could ask questions WHILE I WAS FILMING LIVE. That really changes the equation a lot and that’ll be a key differentiator on FastCompany.tv. After all, if we’re talking to Fast Companies, why shouldn’t they answer YOUR questions live as well as mine?

Anyway, to wrap this all up. This was the best “win-win” for you, for me, my employers, and for my sponsors. That’s why I’m proud to be a member of the Fast Company and Inc. families today and I’m looking forward to participating with you on March 3 on fastcompany.tv.

In between now and March 3? I’ll continue to post videos (yesterday alone I posted about a dozen videos on my Qik channel from MacWorld conference) and other items I see in the industry on my blog on scobleizer.com.

Published by Robert Scoble

I help entrepreneurs build their technology business' story, help with getting ready for investors, with other launch plans, and many other strategic things that can help your new startup. Call to talk: +1-425-205-1921 (text first).

Published

293 thoughts on “Why we’re going to FastCompany.tv”

  6. Focus on your interviewing skills. Watch the earliest Letterman and Leno shows and see just how horrible they are. Learn to let the personality of the interviewee come through. And get some tech writers behind you to brainstorm questions ahead of time. When you cover hardcore tech (which will be less and less) it needs to be razor sharp.

    Like

  7. Focus on your interviewing skills. Watch the earliest Letterman and Leno shows and see just how horrible they are. Learn to let the personality of the interviewee come through. And get some tech writers behind you to brainstorm questions ahead of time. When you cover hardcore tech (which will be less and less) it needs to be razor sharp.

    Like

  25. Wow, Robert!

    What a mag group to work with!

    When Wired started getting tired, I found Fast Company to be a more compelling read. Was disappointed when it went through some sort of recession. Glad to hear that it’s getting better again.

    You’ll probably turn me into a Fast Company fan again. Yay!

    Thanks for being the pioneer you are.

    And thanks for introducing me to all the new tech you’ve been playing with.

    If you ever need illustrations, please think of me. (And I’ll be more than happy to come and do live visual facilitations of your chats as a sidebar live-cast.)

    Blue skies
    love
    Roy

    Like

  26. Wow, Robert!

    What a mag group to work with!

    When Wired started getting tired, I found Fast Company to be a more compelling read. Was disappointed when it went through some sort of recession. Glad to hear that it’s getting better again.

    You’ll probably turn me into a Fast Company fan again. Yay!

    Thanks for being the pioneer you are.

    And thanks for introducing me to all the new tech you’ve been playing with.

    If you ever need illustrations, please think of me. (And I’ll be more than happy to come and do live visual facilitations of your chats as a sidebar live-cast.)

    Blue skies
    love
    Roy

    Like

  29. ///Both Mike Arrington and Om Malik (and others) urged me to start my own company. But, when I looked in the mirror I just didnโ€™t have that passion for doing it all myself. Why not?

    It does not have to be a ‘doing it all’ scenario…
    this top 100 blog is a business – it just depends on how much you profit from it:

    Look at how: Techcrunch, Mashable, Problogger, Shoemoney, Endagdget – have all started off with blog and took it to the sky.

    Like

  30. ///Both Mike Arrington and Om Malik (and others) urged me to start my own company. But, when I looked in the mirror I just didnโ€™t have that passion for doing it all myself. Why not?

    It does not have to be a ‘doing it all’ scenario…
    this top 100 blog is a business – it just depends on how much you profit from it:

    Look at how: Techcrunch, Mashable, Problogger, Shoemoney, Endagdget – have all started off with blog and took it to the sky.

    Like

  31. Congratulatios Robert, sounds fun. Just curious though as Fast Company says you’re going to be Managing Director. Doesn’t that role still have to do a lot of the things you didn’t want to do if you were starting your own company.

    Like

  32. SearchEngines: and I’ve watched TechCrunch spend four years getting to where it is with tons of business advantages (he’s a lawyer, for one) that I don’t have. Also, starting a business in the face of a recession (and entrenched competition) isn’t as easy as it was when the industry was rapidly expanding, as it was three/four years ago, and when there was a new niche that really had very little competition (remember, I was the first one to link to TechCrunch when it started up).

    Like

  33. Congratulatios Robert, sounds fun. Just curious though as Fast Company says you’re going to be Managing Director. Doesn’t that role still have to do a lot of the things you didn’t want to do if you were starting your own company.

    Like

  34. SearchEngines: and I’ve watched TechCrunch spend four years getting to where it is with tons of business advantages (he’s a lawyer, for one) that I don’t have. Also, starting a business in the face of a recession (and entrenched competition) isn’t as easy as it was when the industry was rapidly expanding, as it was three/four years ago, and when there was a new niche that really had very little competition (remember, I was the first one to link to TechCrunch when it started up).

    Like

  35. Rachel: yeah, some of them, but not as many as if I were running my own thing and certainly I wouldn’t be able to hit the ground running the way I will be here.

    Like

  36. Rachel: yeah, some of them, but not as many as if I were running my own thing and certainly I wouldn’t be able to hit the ground running the way I will be here.

    Like

  37. Robert,

    I congratulated you earlier this evening in person but here is a written note to add to the chorus – awesome move and congrats!

    One immediate suggestion – talk to the folks over at the Berkman Center & Global Voices – as you go to large venues like the World Economic Forum & Lift talk with about who else/where else you might go to get a truly global set of stories, companies and people.

    (happy to make many intros there if you need any)

    Shannon

    Like

  38. Robert,

    I congratulated you earlier this evening in person but here is a written note to add to the chorus – awesome move and congrats!

    One immediate suggestion – talk to the folks over at the Berkman Center & Global Voices – as you go to large venues like the World Economic Forum & Lift talk with about who else/where else you might go to get a truly global set of stories, companies and people.

    (happy to make many intros there if you need any)

    Shannon

    Like

  41. Congratulation to your move, I think it will be a win win for everyone. As you said: You need to be happy with it. And at the moment Fast.TV _is_ much more compelling than doing a startup to yourself.

    Especially with your two boys, who will want to see something of their daddy – not to speak of your wife.

    Outsourcing: You will need to spend a bit more though than Tim is suggesting in his book as his numbers are quite optimistic ๐Ÿ˜‰ Though it will be totally worth helping you move forward.

    Nicole

    Like

  42. Congratulation to your move, I think it will be a win win for everyone. As you said: You need to be happy with it. And at the moment Fast.TV _is_ much more compelling than doing a startup to yourself.

    Especially with your two boys, who will want to see something of their daddy – not to speak of your wife.

    Outsourcing: You will need to spend a bit more though than Tim is suggesting in his book as his numbers are quite optimistic ๐Ÿ˜‰ Though it will be totally worth helping you move forward.

    Nicole

    Like

  43. Congratulations, Robert, you definitely deserve it. Gret seeing you and PAtrick tonight, looking forward to hanging out with you and talking about many other new things together… ๐Ÿ™‚

    Give my best to everyone in Davos – it is a WONDERFUL time, you’re going to love it…

    Dave

    Like

  44. Congratulations, Robert, you definitely deserve it. Gret seeing you and PAtrick tonight, looking forward to hanging out with you and talking about many other new things together… ๐Ÿ™‚

    Give my best to everyone in Davos – it is a WONDERFUL time, you’re going to love it…

    Dave

    Like

  45. Pingback: Oliver Gassner

  48. Reading through your 6 points, I find myself nodding in sage agreement. What a pity no-one is bashing down my door to get me to work for them on a similarly exciting venture! Sigh.

    Congrats and all the best.

    I’m sure your family will appreciate it – especially if it means you have the time to attend sports events, science fairs, concerts and award ceremonies.

    Like

  49. Reading through your 6 points, I find myself nodding in sage agreement. What a pity no-one is bashing down my door to get me to work for them on a similarly exciting venture! Sigh.

    Congrats and all the best.

    I’m sure your family will appreciate it – especially if it means you have the time to attend sports events, science fairs, concerts and award ceremonies.

    Like

  50. As Managing Director, Robert will help FastCompany.TV create its entire editorial line up, not just his own shows. He’ll also work with us to choose the right video technology for the site, the right design, and the best way to offer the video offerings to the one million plus readers of FastCompany.com. And he has an important say as to the role our sponsors will have on the video network. But we’ll take care of almost all of the more mundane non-editorial tasks (negotiating and writing contracts, doing payroll, billing sponsors, preparing sales presentations, serving ads, buying software, finding distributors for the shows, etc.) to clear up Robert’s schedule for reporting. As a company with 170 employees, owned by Joe Mansueto, the billionaire founder of Morningstar, we have all the resources in place to support a solid business. We’re also a company laregly run by journalists who believe editorial excellence is our primary mission. We’re very excited Robert decided to join us. (I’m the president of Mansueot Digital, which runs all our websites.)

    Like

  51. As Managing Director, Robert will help FastCompany.TV create its entire editorial line up, not just his own shows. He’ll also work with us to choose the right video technology for the site, the right design, and the best way to offer the video offerings to the one million plus readers of FastCompany.com. And he has an important say as to the role our sponsors will have on the video network. But we’ll take care of almost all of the more mundane non-editorial tasks (negotiating and writing contracts, doing payroll, billing sponsors, preparing sales presentations, serving ads, buying software, finding distributors for the shows, etc.) to clear up Robert’s schedule for reporting. As a company with 170 employees, owned by Joe Mansueto, the billionaire founder of Morningstar, we have all the resources in place to support a solid business. We’re also a company laregly run by journalists who believe editorial excellence is our primary mission. We’re very excited Robert decided to join us. (I’m the president of Mansueot Digital, which runs all our websites.)

    Like

  52. Congrats on the move! Your points on why you are NOT starting your own business definitely resonated with me. I recently went through a job transition and seriously looked at going out on my own, but for reasons quite similar to yours (as well as the outrageous quotes I was getting for self-employed health insurance!) I, too, chose to NOT go that route and am now extremely happy to be able to focus on what I enjoy doing.

    Best wishes to you and your family and team as you go down this new path. I’ll look forward to seeing what you produce!

    Dan

    Like

  53. Congrats on the move! Your points on why you are NOT starting your own business definitely resonated with me. I recently went through a job transition and seriously looked at going out on my own, but for reasons quite similar to yours (as well as the outrageous quotes I was getting for self-employed health insurance!) I, too, chose to NOT go that route and am now extremely happy to be able to focus on what I enjoy doing.

    Best wishes to you and your family and team as you go down this new path. I’ll look forward to seeing what you produce!

    Dan

    Like

  56. You’ve done amazing work in the past and will in the new shop too. Thanks for outlining your thinking . . . wish more folks were that genuine about their career moves. Probably the same honesty is why we’re all devoted to tracking your ideas.

    Like

  57. You’ve done amazing work in the past and will in the new shop too. Thanks for outlining your thinking . . . wish more folks were that genuine about their career moves. Probably the same honesty is why we’re all devoted to tracking your ideas.

    Like

  58. Best wishes and thanks for sharing the insights, Robert. I left my 15-year IT career last May to write, blog and create video content full time. Your thoughts echo many of the considerations required for a start-up… even on a smaller scale. Looking forward to seeing what you & your team produce!

    Like

  59. Best wishes and thanks for sharing the insights, Robert. I left my 15-year IT career last May to write, blog and create video content full time. Your thoughts echo many of the considerations required for a start-up… even on a smaller scale. Looking forward to seeing what you & your team produce!

    Like

  60. Best of luck with Fast Company. I interviewed Ed Sussman at the Network Journalism Summit and he is an impressive individual. Oh yeah, the offices in 7 World Trade are awesome!!

    Like

  61. Best of luck with Fast Company. I interviewed Ed Sussman at the Network Journalism Summit and he is an impressive individual. Oh yeah, the offices in 7 World Trade are awesome!!

    Like

  64. Great post … an insiders view on your decision making process, which was obviously well thought out and through. Best to you in this new venture.

    I’ve been a firm believe that 2008 would be THE big year for established media companies to make their big push into the New Web. Sounds like Fast Company and Inc, both mags I enjoy very much (yes, I still read paper), are forward thinking. Good for them, good for you. Now, I just need to send you guys my resume. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Like

  66. Great post … an insiders view on your decision making process, which was obviously well thought out and through. Best to you in this new venture.

    I’ve been a firm believe that 2008 would be THE big year for established media companies to make their big push into the New Web. Sounds like Fast Company and Inc, both mags I enjoy very much (yes, I still read paper), are forward thinking. Good for them, good for you. Now, I just need to send you guys my resume. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Like

  68. Robert, congrats to you and Rocky. Great choices!

    Not to pick on your new employer… Tried to comment on Lynne’s blog and it errors out for no obvious reason. Might try it yourself just to see if your mileage varies. If we’re going to participate in a discuss/attention driven relationship… Either I’m going to have to get better at understanding what I did wrong on the blog there or they’re going to have to wrench on their tech a bit. I know I can change! Please give me another chance? ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Like

  69. Robert, congrats to you and Rocky. Great choices!

    Not to pick on your new employer… Tried to comment on Lynne’s blog and it errors out for no obvious reason. Might try it yourself just to see if your mileage varies. If we’re going to participate in a discuss/attention driven relationship… Either I’m going to have to get better at understanding what I did wrong on the blog there or they’re going to have to wrench on their tech a bit. I know I can change! Please give me another chance? ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Like

  78. ///The thing is that the new technology lets you PARTICIPATE with the people who are in front of the camera. You got a taste of this while I was walking around CES with a cell phone and you could ask questions WHILE I WAS FILMING LIVE. That really changes the equation a lot and thatโ€™ll be a key differentiator on FastCompany.tv. After all, if weโ€™re talking to Fast Companies, why shouldnโ€™t they answer YOUR questions live as well as mine?

    Hey Robert congratulations!

    My experience up in NH covering the primary with Qik really got me excited all over again about the PARTICIPATORY aspect of this. I love that it’s one of hte things you are focusing on.

    I’ve experimented with Mogulus and hope to try some LIVE broadcasting with it. Finding the right technical solution that works is the tricky part here. I’ve tried a lot of the live streaming solutions at Boston Media Makers meetings and most times there have been issues that keep the stream from working. Computer issues, configuration issues, bandwith issues… I’ll be experimenting more with these technologies to find something that works for me all the time.

    And finally Seesmic. Although the videos are recorded, they are live. Alive with people, and timely. On New Years Eve Carol and I had dinner with the world as we watched everyone celebrate and recorded our own toast.

    2008 is going to be an exciting year.

    See you in the internet and in person…

    –Steve

    Like

  79. ///The thing is that the new technology lets you PARTICIPATE with the people who are in front of the camera. You got a taste of this while I was walking around CES with a cell phone and you could ask questions WHILE I WAS FILMING LIVE. That really changes the equation a lot and thatโ€™ll be a key differentiator on FastCompany.tv. After all, if weโ€™re talking to Fast Companies, why shouldnโ€™t they answer YOUR questions live as well as mine?

    Hey Robert congratulations!

    My experience up in NH covering the primary with Qik really got me excited all over again about the PARTICIPATORY aspect of this. I love that it’s one of hte things you are focusing on.

    I’ve experimented with Mogulus and hope to try some LIVE broadcasting with it. Finding the right technical solution that works is the tricky part here. I’ve tried a lot of the live streaming solutions at Boston Media Makers meetings and most times there have been issues that keep the stream from working. Computer issues, configuration issues, bandwith issues… I’ll be experimenting more with these technologies to find something that works for me all the time.

    And finally Seesmic. Although the videos are recorded, they are live. Alive with people, and timely. On New Years Eve Carol and I had dinner with the world as we watched everyone celebrate and recorded our own toast.

    2008 is going to be an exciting year.

    See you in the internet and in person…

    –Steve

    Like

  80. Congrats Robert! I’ve been following the journey since Channel9 and enjoying your content over at Podtech, and I can’t wait to see what’s coming in March. Best of luck and looking forward to it!

    Like

  81. Congrats Robert! I’ve been following the journey since Channel9 and enjoying your content over at Podtech, and I can’t wait to see what’s coming in March. Best of luck and looking forward to it!

    Like

  82. Steve: yesterday Qik’s executives say they are working with both Seesmic and Mogulus. Like you said, 2008 is going to be an exciting year! Hope to see you soon and thanks for the support!

    Like

  83. Steve: yesterday Qik’s executives say they are working with both Seesmic and Mogulus. Like you said, 2008 is going to be an exciting year! Hope to see you soon and thanks for the support!

    Like

  84. Congrats, Robert! I look forward to continue to keep up with the new things you will be doing as you expand your reach and build on what you have already started.

    Like

  85. Congrats, Robert! I look forward to continue to keep up with the new things you will be doing as you expand your reach and build on what you have already started.

    Like

  88. Good luck Robert, this moves sounds like more of a winner for you. Plesser mentions that you will be selling add space on the blog now. What kind of adds?

    Like

  89. Good luck Robert, this moves sounds like more of a winner for you. Plesser mentions that you will be selling add space on the blog now. What kind of adds?

    Like

  92. Robert there is very interesting quote from the Talmud ! ” We don’t see things as they are we see things as we are !” In the final analysis no one can buy judgement, but our own decisions right or wrong add to our structure ! In my opinion NY is the center of the world. A New York office with a line into the East Coast Media Market is worth a move to a new firm ! Your content generated in CA and piped to the Apple it shall Deck the Halls of Great institutions like the Stage Deli ! Millions will stand in Times Square watching Scobie Of Ca on the Big Screens ! Puede Ser !

    Like

  93. Robert there is very interesting quote from the Talmud ! ” We don’t see things as they are we see things as we are !” In the final analysis no one can buy judgement, but our own decisions right or wrong add to our structure ! In my opinion NY is the center of the world. A New York office with a line into the East Coast Media Market is worth a move to a new firm ! Your content generated in CA and piped to the Apple it shall Deck the Halls of Great institutions like the Stage Deli ! Millions will stand in Times Square watching Scobie Of Ca on the Big Screens ! Puede Ser !

    Like

  96. Good luck Robert! It is nice to see the perspective you have taken in this decision – taking into account the needs of your WHOLE life, not just the temptation to follow money and stardom.
    -Dan

    Like

  97. Good luck Robert! It is nice to see the perspective you have taken in this decision – taking into account the needs of your WHOLE life, not just the temptation to follow money and stardom.
    -Dan

    Like

  101. Pingback: Mansueto Digital anunta debutul lui Robert Scoble la FastCompany.tv | MyKinda Tech si Gadgets

  103. Robert — GREAT move. It’s clear you spent a lot of time thinking through the framework for a decision and it’s also clear you made a great choice. Best of luck from Michelle and I. (Btw, you looked great on Donny and Fast Money!)

    Like

  105. Robert — GREAT move. It’s clear you spent a lot of time thinking through the framework for a decision and it’s also clear you made a great choice. Best of luck from Michelle and I. (Btw, you looked great on Donny and Fast Money!)

    Like

  107. Thank you for sharing Robert. It was very interesting and insightful to read the process you went through to arrive at your decision.

    Best of luck to you!

    Like

  108. Thank you for sharing Robert. It was very interesting and insightful to read the process you went through to arrive at your decision.

    Best of luck to you!

    Like

  109. Pingback: Robert Scoble kickstart with FastCompany.tv (Romania) | MyKinda English

  110. Congrats. Your reasoning makes perfect sense. I can totally relate. Interviewing is a blast, and live just adds energy and allows for real time interactivity.

    Break a leg.

    And I’d love to book you as a guest on my show one of these days!

    Rock on.

    Like

  111. Congrats. Your reasoning makes perfect sense. I can totally relate. Interviewing is a blast, and live just adds energy and allows for real time interactivity.

    Break a leg.

    And I’d love to book you as a guest on my show one of these days!

    Rock on.

    Like

  114. Pingback: Robert Scoble Joining FastCompany.tv

  115. Congrats Robert! Thanks for (1) sharing the process you went through to make this decision and (2) having the courage to recognize the path that will make both you and your family happy.

    Good luck in your next journey!

    Jim

    Like

  116. Congrats Robert! Thanks for (1) sharing the process you went through to make this decision and (2) having the courage to recognize the path that will make both you and your family happy.

    Good luck in your next journey!

    Jim

    Like

  119. Pingback: Incremental Blogger » Blog Archive » Robert Scoble moves to FastCompany.tv

  120. monkeyleader: I will be in Europe three separate times in next three months, so yes, we’ll have lots of content outside of the United States.

    >Paul Roundy: we’re still working through what kind of ads, and what kind of redesign will happen to my blog. More details to come closer to March 3.

    Like

  121. monkeyleader: I will be in Europe three separate times in next three months, so yes, we’ll have lots of content outside of the United States.

    >Paul Roundy: we’re still working through what kind of ads, and what kind of redesign will happen to my blog. More details to come closer to March 3.

    Like

  124. Pingback: IP Telephony, VoIP, Broadband mobile edition

  125. Robert,

    that’s fantastic news, congrats on the move.

    And remember, if Fastcompany are looking for anyone to help you in Europe, I’m in the market for work at the minute(!)

    Like

  126. Robert,

    that’s fantastic news, congrats on the move.

    And remember, if Fastcompany are looking for anyone to help you in Europe, I’m in the market for work at the minute(!)

    Like

  131. Doing something new is always exciting! Like everyone else: congrats – looking forward to new content you generate this year.

    On another subject, I’m dying to find out what you thought about the annoucements Steve Jobs made at MacWorld! Especially regarding Apple TV. Do you think the changes they made will cause you to use it?

    I tried out the position locator button in Maps on my iPhone and it works pretty darn good! It’s only about a block and a half off!

    Anyways, all the best.
    Orville

    Like

  132. Doing something new is always exciting! Like everyone else: congrats – looking forward to new content you generate this year.

    On another subject, I’m dying to find out what you thought about the annoucements Steve Jobs made at MacWorld! Especially regarding Apple TV. Do you think the changes they made will cause you to use it?

    I tried out the position locator button in Maps on my iPhone and it works pretty darn good! It’s only about a block and a half off!

    Anyways, all the best.
    Orville

    Like

  133. Pingback: And Scoble joins Fast Company | mere funde

  134. I look forward to seeing what you can do in your new position. I wonder how this move will change your blog, it at all?

    Are you going to consider your assets, blog and FastCompany.TV as one outlet. If so, will your blog reflect a higher standard of journalistic professionalism?

    You know, one thing that keeps your viewership around is that you come across as a type of reporter who doesn’t elevate the technical content so high that it seems out of reach for most of the viewers. I’m sure that most of your current viewers are indeed technical and enjoy the casualness of your approach. We deal with very technical issues all day and you give us a break from the gritty details.

    Now, sometimes this works against you when you go off on a tangent and try to hard to get too deep into the details.

    But anyway, good luck on the new journey… we look forward to the next chapter.

    Oh yea, and here’s an idea for content. Give your son a show about MACs. Use his passion and let him turn on the younger crowd to Interenet based media!

    Like

  135. I look forward to seeing what you can do in your new position. I wonder how this move will change your blog, it at all?

    Are you going to consider your assets, blog and FastCompany.TV as one outlet. If so, will your blog reflect a higher standard of journalistic professionalism?

    You know, one thing that keeps your viewership around is that you come across as a type of reporter who doesn’t elevate the technical content so high that it seems out of reach for most of the viewers. I’m sure that most of your current viewers are indeed technical and enjoy the casualness of your approach. We deal with very technical issues all day and you give us a break from the gritty details.

    Now, sometimes this works against you when you go off on a tangent and try to hard to get too deep into the details.

    But anyway, good luck on the new journey… we look forward to the next chapter.

    Oh yea, and here’s an idea for content. Give your son a show about MACs. Use his passion and let him turn on the younger crowd to Interenet based media!

    Like

  136. Herschel: my blog is still going to remain my blog: unedited and my own, but I’m thinking about what to do with it in a more professional context, yes.

    Good idea about my son! He was on Dave Winer’s podcast yesterday and did great.

    Like

  137. Herschel: my blog is still going to remain my blog: unedited and my own, but I’m thinking about what to do with it in a more professional context, yes.

    Good idea about my son! He was on Dave Winer’s podcast yesterday and did great.

    Like

  138. Robert – Congratulations. Sounds like a perfect fit. Based on the podcast we did a few weeks ago (http://tinyurl.com/3e5kx3) I can’t say as though I’m surprised by your choice although I still think Google could still benefit from your “breath of fresh air” approach — engineers be damned!!! LOL

    Like

  139. Robert – Congratulations. Sounds like a perfect fit. Based on the podcast we did a few weeks ago (http://tinyurl.com/3e5kx3) I can’t say as though I’m surprised by your choice although I still think Google could still benefit from your “breath of fresh air” approach — engineers be damned!!! LOL

    Like

  142. Pingback: RKNet Blog… thing » No Other Explanation Necessary 2: Oh Scoble, You Scamp
  143. Pingback: Robert Scoble Joins FastCompany.TV-- bub.blicio.us
  148. Pingback: Scoble Going to Fast Company | Valley PR Blog
  149. Pingback: rexblog.com: Rex Hammock’s weblog » Blog Archive » Welcome to the Magazineosphere, Robert

  150. Robert – best of luck to you and Rocky with your new assignment. I have enjoyed working with you over the past few years.

    Like

  151. Robert – best of luck to you and Rocky with your new assignment. I have enjoyed working with you over the past few years.

    Like

  154. Sounds like you’ve done all the analysis and come to an excellent conclusion!
    Good Luck – and will definitely look forward to the new work! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Like

  155. Sounds like you’ve done all the analysis and come to an excellent conclusion!
    Good Luck – and will definitely look forward to the new work! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Like

  156. Pingback: Scripting News for 1/16/2008 « Scripting News Annex
  159. Pingback: Scoble wechselt zu Fast Company | Ergrรผndet

  160. You’re very lucky to have identified (and acted upon) your passions. As someone who spent years trying to get better at stuff I hate (payroll, managing employees, selling) it’s amazing what you can accomplish when you give yourself permission to let go of all that.

    It took me a lot more years. I’m a little jealous.

    I’m expecting you and Oprah will be partying together at the mansions.

    Like

  161. You’re very lucky to have identified (and acted upon) your passions. As someone who spent years trying to get better at stuff I hate (payroll, managing employees, selling) it’s amazing what you can accomplish when you give yourself permission to let go of all that.

    It took me a lot more years. I’m a little jealous.

    I’m expecting you and Oprah will be partying together at the mansions.

    Like

  162. Pingback: Nashville is Talking » Magazineosphere

  165. Best of luck with the new job!!! Sounds like a great opportunity. I can’t wait to see what you do with FastCompany.TV and the content.

    Like

  166. Best of luck with the new job!!! Sounds like a great opportunity. I can’t wait to see what you do with FastCompany.TV and the content.

    Like

  171. Pingback: Good Luck, Robert Scoble » The Buzz Bin

  176. Congratulations Robert!

    Out of curiosity, who are you guys using for your video infrastructure? Is it a homegrown solution or are you partnering with someone?

    Like

  177. Congratulations Robert!

    Out of curiosity, who are you guys using for your video infrastructure? Is it a homegrown solution or are you partnering with someone?

    Like

  178. Pingback: Why FastCompany.tv Will Probably Succeed » Expert Idiot
  181. Pingback: Scoble’s Got A Brand New Bag « Kent’s Official Blog

  182. Love the airplane idea…a captured audience full of business travelers. Perhaps you could cut a deal with Travelocity or somesuch company. Then when I buy a ticket from them, I have the option to download your content so that my laptop is full when I get on the plane and need something to do.

    Good luck with it all! Dawn

    Like

  183. Love the airplane idea…a captured audience full of business travelers. Perhaps you could cut a deal with Travelocity or somesuch company. Then when I buy a ticket from them, I have the option to download your content so that my laptop is full when I get on the plane and need something to do.

    Good luck with it all! Dawn

    Like

  190. Pingback: Cambridge Cluster » Blog Archive » Scoble “coat-tails” to Fastcompany.tv

  192. Good luck and thanks for the video at Podtech. Hope you get some share options that vest early! Keep laughing and keep us having fun!

    Like

  195. “#Revenues. If you donโ€™t have them, itโ€™s hard to buy cameras, lights, microphones, or take the time to do things right. Yeah, you can bootstrap for a while like Rocketboom did in its early years, but at some point if you donโ€™t have cash coming in youโ€™ll need to find a real job and stop working on media production.” -Robert Scoble

    Yeah, kind of like what I have been going through trying to create my business as a full time photographer. I’ve spent easily 20K in the past year on equipment and I worked multiple jobs to earn it. I tried to explain my very similar dilemma to the public over the Richter Scales drama a month ago – how I need to be able to earn a living off my work so that I can continue working. Yet you were one of my most vocal opponents insisting that I should give my work away for free and criticized me for trying to charge for what I do and maintain control over it.

    I thought you were going to give everything away for free? I thought you were against the idea of people creating original content and selling it. Are you volunteering your services? Does Fast Company know that you think copyright is dead and that you want people to “steal your content”? Did you tell them you plan to give it all away?

    Your hypocrisy is astounding.

    Like

  196. “#Revenues. If you donโ€™t have them, itโ€™s hard to buy cameras, lights, microphones, or take the time to do things right. Yeah, you can bootstrap for a while like Rocketboom did in its early years, but at some point if you donโ€™t have cash coming in youโ€™ll need to find a real job and stop working on media production.” -Robert Scoble

    Yeah, kind of like what I have been going through trying to create my business as a full time photographer. I’ve spent easily 20K in the past year on equipment and I worked multiple jobs to earn it. I tried to explain my very similar dilemma to the public over the Richter Scales drama a month ago – how I need to be able to earn a living off my work so that I can continue working. Yet you were one of my most vocal opponents insisting that I should give my work away for free and criticized me for trying to charge for what I do and maintain control over it.

    I thought you were going to give everything away for free? I thought you were against the idea of people creating original content and selling it. Are you volunteering your services? Does Fast Company know that you think copyright is dead and that you want people to “steal your content”? Did you tell them you plan to give it all away?

    Your hypocrisy is astounding.

    Like

  203. Pingback: Top Posts « WordPress.com
  210. Pingback: Good luck: we look forward to a Scobleizing year! « TechBays

  211. Robert, This is great news about your new opportunity. Fast Company is a very good brand to build on and I wish you the most success. Don’t forget to send me your video podcast feeds when they are ready and I will get them in the Zune Podcast Marketplace. Rob Greenlee

    Like

  212. Robert, This is great news about your new opportunity. Fast Company is a very good brand to build on and I wish you the most success. Don’t forget to send me your video podcast feeds when they are ready and I will get them in the Zune Podcast Marketplace. Rob Greenlee

    Like

  213. Hey Robert,
    Congrats on the big news. Your points are very thoughtful and encouraging. You made a great choice and are joining a great company with huge potential. Can’t wait to see how you shake things up. Looking forward to meeting you in person in March.
    *Cheers!

    Like

  214. Hey Robert,
    Congrats on the big news. Your points are very thoughtful and encouraging. You made a great choice and are joining a great company with huge potential. Can’t wait to see how you shake things up. Looking forward to meeting you in person in March.
    *Cheers!

    Like

  217. Congrats to both you and Rocky! Sounds like a great move for all the right reasons. Being an entrepreneur does not necessarily mean being on your own. You can have an entrepreneurial experience within a large organization if the setting, culture and opportunity is ripe and right. Sounds like that is exactly what you have before you. I look forward to watching!

    Like

  218. Congrats to both you and Rocky! Sounds like a great move for all the right reasons. Being an entrepreneur does not necessarily mean being on your own. You can have an entrepreneurial experience within a large organization if the setting, culture and opportunity is ripe and right. Sounds like that is exactly what you have before you. I look forward to watching!

    Like

  225. Congrats to you, Robert and Rocky! Good you took the Om Malik happening to heart.

    Rocky – I have those new Whole Food Multis for you (and Robert) to test. Where shall I send them?

    We need you boys around for the next 70 years, at least.

    Kim Klaver Kimklaver[at]mac[dot]com

    Like

  226. Congrats to you, Robert and Rocky! Good you took the Om Malik happening to heart.

    Rocky – I have those new Whole Food Multis for you (and Robert) to test. Where shall I send them?

    We need you boys around for the next 70 years, at least.

    Kim Klaver Kimklaver[at]mac[dot]com

    Like

  227. Congrats! – Love the 6 points you cover – Going to bed now and will be doing a vlog interview with myself about what you covered…………Best, Cate & Crew ImGay.tv where you don’t have to “Try Out” you just have to “Be Out”

    Like

  228. Congrats! – Love the 6 points you cover – Going to bed now and will be doing a vlog interview with myself about what you covered…………Best, Cate & Crew ImGay.tv where you don’t have to “Try Out” you just have to “Be Out”

    Like

  231. As I sat reading this I couldn’t help but think about your new Year’s post about what you would do and what you would better etc. Then I wondered if this wasn’t something that Maryam said you should definitely do. If she blessed the move, there is no way it will fail. Good luck Robert and I’ll add you to my thoughts prayers as we all jump into 2008.

    Like

  232. As I sat reading this I couldn’t help but think about your new Year’s post about what you would do and what you would better etc. Then I wondered if this wasn’t something that Maryam said you should definitely do. If she blessed the move, there is no way it will fail. Good luck Robert and I’ll add you to my thoughts prayers as we all jump into 2008.

    Like

  233. Pingback: Congratulations to Scoble and Fast Company ~ Jake Ludington’s Digital Lifestyle

  238. @7. Yes, of course Fast Company’s content is available online. But, where does the bulk of their revenue come from? Dead tree advertising/subscriptions or online? Point is, you are going to work for “Old Media”. Will you still be a member of “Media 2.0?”

    I found this interesting from the beet interview:

    “Although he will continue to own and run Scobleizer blog independently from Fast Company, he is entering into agreement with the publisher to sell advertising. This would be the first time ads, besides banners for his book, have been sold on the influential blog.”

    Did you agree with Microsoft to sell advertising when you were working for them and had your “personal blog”? Why are you selling out your blog to your current employer? You can maintain all you want that it is independent, but advertisers will want something for their money, so you will need to be more careful who you skewer. Never can tell who your advertisers might have relationships with.

    Like

  239. @7. Yes, of course Fast Company’s content is available online. But, where does the bulk of their revenue come from? Dead tree advertising/subscriptions or online? Point is, you are going to work for “Old Media”. Will you still be a member of “Media 2.0?”

    I found this interesting from the beet interview:

    “Although he will continue to own and run Scobleizer blog independently from Fast Company, he is entering into agreement with the publisher to sell advertising. This would be the first time ads, besides banners for his book, have been sold on the influential blog.”

    Did you agree with Microsoft to sell advertising when you were working for them and had your “personal blog”? Why are you selling out your blog to your current employer? You can maintain all you want that it is independent, but advertisers will want something for their money, so you will need to be more careful who you skewer. Never can tell who your advertisers might have relationships with.

    Like

  240. I gotta agree with Lane Hartwell’s post.

    You really blew it on that issue.
    You still might think about saying you were wrong on that issue.
    I wish you the best on your new job.

    Like

  241. I gotta agree with Lane Hartwell’s post.

    You really blew it on that issue.
    You still might think about saying you were wrong on that issue.
    I wish you the best on your new job.

    Like

  244. >Yet you were one of my most vocal opponents insisting that I should give my work away for free and criticized me for trying to charge for what I do and maintain control over it.

    Lane and Chris,

    I do give everything almost all my content for free. You might visit http://www.qik.com/scobleizer — I did 17 interviews yesterday and several more today, including some with some very hard to find people (like the CTO of Entertainment Arts).

    I make my money from sponsorships.

    You should read my post again. I didn’t say that YOU should give everything away for free. I just differentiated myself from your approach — you want complete control of ever image. I don’t — take my stuff and steal it please and watch what we do at Fast Company.tv (the companies that hold tight control to their stuff won’t do as well in this new world as others who let their communities have a bit of leeway). I give away MY stuff for free, which gets me more distribution and then I put my sponsor’s name on SOME of my stuff. I’ve found this has made me MUCH more money than trying to tightly control everything. You might look into how RadioHead did when they let their fans decide the price for their work. Some, yes, didn’t pay, but lots did to the tune of more than $10 million now.

    I’ve spent more than $5,000 on my photographic equipment, and have more than $10,000 in computers and thousands in video gear too, and got a lot of professional training in photography too (I was in the photojournalism program at San Jose State University where one three-unit class now costs thousands of dollars). So, congratulations on investing in your career the way I have too.

    I don’t try to make money with every image and, indeed, all my Flickr photography is given to the public domain so you, even, could reuse it if you find fit to.

    I did seven years of blogging without even putting an ad on my blog, either, and I’ve read hundreds of thousands of feed items — all for free over the past few years.

    If that’s hypocrisy, so be it.

    Like

  245. >Yet you were one of my most vocal opponents insisting that I should give my work away for free and criticized me for trying to charge for what I do and maintain control over it.

    Lane and Chris,

    I do give everything almost all my content for free. You might visit http://www.qik.com/scobleizer — I did 17 interviews yesterday and several more today, including some with some very hard to find people (like the CTO of Entertainment Arts).

    I make my money from sponsorships.

    You should read my post again. I didn’t say that YOU should give everything away for free. I just differentiated myself from your approach — you want complete control of ever image. I don’t — take my stuff and steal it please and watch what we do at Fast Company.tv (the companies that hold tight control to their stuff won’t do as well in this new world as others who let their communities have a bit of leeway). I give away MY stuff for free, which gets me more distribution and then I put my sponsor’s name on SOME of my stuff. I’ve found this has made me MUCH more money than trying to tightly control everything. You might look into how RadioHead did when they let their fans decide the price for their work. Some, yes, didn’t pay, but lots did to the tune of more than $10 million now.

    I’ve spent more than $5,000 on my photographic equipment, and have more than $10,000 in computers and thousands in video gear too, and got a lot of professional training in photography too (I was in the photojournalism program at San Jose State University where one three-unit class now costs thousands of dollars). So, congratulations on investing in your career the way I have too.

    I don’t try to make money with every image and, indeed, all my Flickr photography is given to the public domain so you, even, could reuse it if you find fit to.

    I did seven years of blogging without even putting an ad on my blog, either, and I’ve read hundreds of thousands of feed items — all for free over the past few years.

    If that’s hypocrisy, so be it.

    Like

  246. Pingback: Between the Lines mobile edition
  247. Pingback: People on the Move in the Social Media Industry: Jan 17, 2008

  248. The clarity to see your priorities as you outlined them at a time when a decision needed to be made is, as they say, priceless.

    I think a lot of people who start businesses either don’t have that luxury, skill, or temperament.

    Will you have downsides? sure everything does, even families. Well no my wife’s perfect, but the rest of my five kids are not.

    For the rest of the social media world this signifies two things, 1) the mainstream media is not fighting social media, but embracing it and 2) The New Influencers are getting a seat at the table of the old influencers a sign of respect for the work of pioneers.

    All the best

    Like

  249. The clarity to see your priorities as you outlined them at a time when a decision needed to be made is, as they say, priceless.

    I think a lot of people who start businesses either don’t have that luxury, skill, or temperament.

    Will you have downsides? sure everything does, even families. Well no my wife’s perfect, but the rest of my five kids are not.

    For the rest of the social media world this signifies two things, 1) the mainstream media is not fighting social media, but embracing it and 2) The New Influencers are getting a seat at the table of the old influencers a sign of respect for the work of pioneers.

    All the best

    Like

  250. Pingback: Just In Case You Missed It… at DygiScape

  251. Congratulations! It’s nice to hear some good news in the IT publishing industry for a change… especially given the big-picture macro-gloom-and-doom being painted by mainstream media.

    As someone who watched so many great IT trade pubs fail during the bubble-burst, it’s great to see Fast Company and Inc still alive and kicking.

    And you definitely went through the right thought process of deciding whether building your own venture, vs. joining a bigger-ship, was the way to go. So many people just make the decision by the seat of their pants without thinking through pros/cons, personal likes/dislikes, family issues, etc.

    Looking forward to tuning in with your broadcasts real soon!

    Like

  252. Congratulations! It’s nice to hear some good news in the IT publishing industry for a change… especially given the big-picture macro-gloom-and-doom being painted by mainstream media.

    As someone who watched so many great IT trade pubs fail during the bubble-burst, it’s great to see Fast Company and Inc still alive and kicking.

    And you definitely went through the right thought process of deciding whether building your own venture, vs. joining a bigger-ship, was the way to go. So many people just make the decision by the seat of their pants without thinking through pros/cons, personal likes/dislikes, family issues, etc.

    Looking forward to tuning in with your broadcasts real soon!

    Like

  253. Robert, you too want control over what you want control over. Just like in this post, you said content producers should be able to keep their content off link blogs:
    http://scobleizer.com/2007/09/11/techcrunch-linkblogs-are-evil/

    Clearly, if somebody tried making a mirror Scoble blog so that they could run advertising on it, you’d be up in arms and you know it.

    Copyright isn’t dead, but it IS dying because people like you keep ringing it’s death chimes and making people feel like it’s okay to steal other people’s content while deriding those who stand up and say no.

    Note: Nobody is “stealing” your content when you allow them to have it for free. If you don’t want them to do that, if you’ve made it plain that you don’t want them to help themselves to your stuff, THEN it is stealing.

    Like

  254. Robert, you too want control over what you want control over. Just like in this post, you said content producers should be able to keep their content off link blogs:
    http://scobleizer.com/2007/09/11/techcrunch-linkblogs-are-evil/

    Clearly, if somebody tried making a mirror Scoble blog so that they could run advertising on it, you’d be up in arms and you know it.

    Copyright isn’t dead, but it IS dying because people like you keep ringing it’s death chimes and making people feel like it’s okay to steal other people’s content while deriding those who stand up and say no.

    Note: Nobody is “stealing” your content when you allow them to have it for free. If you don’t want them to do that, if you’ve made it plain that you don’t want them to help themselves to your stuff, THEN it is stealing.

    Like

  255. Robert, congrats. Clearly when it comes to gadgets and widgets you will continue to be on top of things I hope though you do focus a bit broadly. On my other New Florence, New Renaissance blog http://www.florence20.typepad.com I track innovations in over 50 categories from virtualization to telemetry…yes many of those applications are in boring old enterprises, but we need innovation in our corporations even more so than in our consumers…good luck

    Like

  256. Robert, congrats. Clearly when it comes to gadgets and widgets you will continue to be on top of things I hope though you do focus a bit broadly. On my other New Florence, New Renaissance blog http://www.florence20.typepad.com I track innovations in over 50 categories from virtualization to telemetry…yes many of those applications are in boring old enterprises, but we need innovation in our corporations even more so than in our consumers…good luck

    Like

  257. Pingback: By the Way « Random Musings
  258. Pingback: You don’t need a corporation to start an event « Dyepot, Teapot

  259. Robert,

    First of all, congrats on your new start! Its great to have self awareness and above all I have your family as a priority. You have some gifts of information filtering and connecting that need to be fully leveraged. I’ve been thinking about how I can cultivate those skills as well (or are they simply natural talents that some people have and others don’t?)

    Also, thanks again for your encouragement around blogging about the Chinese blogosphere. We opened hour blog at http://cnreviews.com and will get in touch with you about stuff you might find interesting. Thanks again for your good ideas and inspiration.

    and an early wishes to you for a great HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

    Like

  260. Robert,

    First of all, congrats on your new start! Its great to have self awareness and above all I have your family as a priority. You have some gifts of information filtering and connecting that need to be fully leveraged. I’ve been thinking about how I can cultivate those skills as well (or are they simply natural talents that some people have and others don’t?)

    Also, thanks again for your encouragement around blogging about the Chinese blogosphere. We opened hour blog at http://cnreviews.com and will get in touch with you about stuff you might find interesting. Thanks again for your good ideas and inspiration.

    and an early wishes to you for a great HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

    Like

  261. It’s good to know what you like to do and equally important what you don’t want to do.

    I wish you lots of luck. I’ve really enjoyed your shows.

    Like

  265. Pingback: Link Sharing: 1/17/08 » Webomatica - Technology and Entertainment Digest

  268. Dawn: no, they won’t. Here’s why. Copies never get very much distribution, nor trust, nor audience.

    By the way, we put our entire book up on our blog. Did that affect sales? Yes, it is still the #1 blogging book, outselling all other corporate blogging books combined. Why? By giving the thing away it created market interest.

    And, yes, I’ve discussed this with them.

    Also, there’s ways to embed advertising into the content so it’s hard to remove if you’re using automated copying tools.

    Does an advertiser really care if you see their message here or there? No.

    Like

  269. Dawn: no, they won’t. Here’s why. Copies never get very much distribution, nor trust, nor audience.

    By the way, we put our entire book up on our blog. Did that affect sales? Yes, it is still the #1 blogging book, outselling all other corporate blogging books combined. Why? By giving the thing away it created market interest.

    And, yes, I’ve discussed this with them.

    Also, there’s ways to embed advertising into the content so it’s hard to remove if you’re using automated copying tools.

    Does an advertiser really care if you see their message here or there? No.

    Like

  270. Robert, I wish you would stop for five minutes and listen to what you’re saying, which is:

    1) You can only make money from the Web if you can personally create a large audience.

    Do you really think you would have such a large audience if it wasn’t for the fact that you worked at Microsoft and were one of the first bloggers? I honestly like you, Robert, and I think you deserve your success, because you were in the right place at the right time and took the right actions. Nobody handed success to you, you made it.

    But let me just ask you something: If you were starting today in the techfield, and you had zero contacts and zero visibility and nobody knew you from Adam, do you honestly think you’d make it so high now? If you do, then I think a lot of people would like to hear how you would do it and how long you think it would take to get back to where you are now if it all went away tomorrow and you started from zero.

    I still strongly believe that people who are not A-type personalities, people who just want to create and not be salesmen, should have as much opportunity to make money from the Web as you hyper-social guys do.

    2) You can only expect to make money from digital content if you can get it into material form somehow, like your book. Give it away digitally for free, but sell hard copies, because PRINT copyright is still valid, but online copyright doesn’t count. Like you often say, “copyright is dead.”

    Just think about the longterm consequences of your stance as print continues to decline. Why will people buy books for the The Kindle, for example, when they’ve been trained by you not to respect copyright law?

    Look, newspapers could have stolen content, too, way back when they formed. But they didn’t. They paid people for it. There was A CULTURE OF RESPECT for creatives. Even now, online newspapers will pay me $250 and up for an editorial cartoon, but places like TechCrunch (which makes a lot more money than a lot of online newspapers!) have NO expectation AT ALL of having to pay for content they use.

    And why? Because of your “copyright is dead” attitude that puts unrealistic expectations on creators, MOST of whom are not salesmen like you are.

    I do think I have the solution to all this. My company is going to work hard to resuscitate copyright and I do think we’ll be successful, though it’s going to take us a few years to get fully there.

    In the meantime, it just upsets me that we can’t be on the same side here. It’s like you’re making me your enemy and vice-versa.

    Esstentially, this is what you’re saying, Robert: Give it up, *I* have *my* dream, but yours died with copyright law.”

    Is that REALLY what you want???

    Like

  271. Robert, I wish you would stop for five minutes and listen to what you’re saying, which is:

    1) You can only make money from the Web if you can personally create a large audience.

    Do you really think you would have such a large audience if it wasn’t for the fact that you worked at Microsoft and were one of the first bloggers? I honestly like you, Robert, and I think you deserve your success, because you were in the right place at the right time and took the right actions. Nobody handed success to you, you made it.

    But let me just ask you something: If you were starting today in the techfield, and you had zero contacts and zero visibility and nobody knew you from Adam, do you honestly think you’d make it so high now? If you do, then I think a lot of people would like to hear how you would do it and how long you think it would take to get back to where you are now if it all went away tomorrow and you started from zero.

    I still strongly believe that people who are not A-type personalities, people who just want to create and not be salesmen, should have as much opportunity to make money from the Web as you hyper-social guys do.

    2) You can only expect to make money from digital content if you can get it into material form somehow, like your book. Give it away digitally for free, but sell hard copies, because PRINT copyright is still valid, but online copyright doesn’t count. Like you often say, “copyright is dead.”

    Just think about the longterm consequences of your stance as print continues to decline. Why will people buy books for the The Kindle, for example, when they’ve been trained by you not to respect copyright law?

    Look, newspapers could have stolen content, too, way back when they formed. But they didn’t. They paid people for it. There was A CULTURE OF RESPECT for creatives. Even now, online newspapers will pay me $250 and up for an editorial cartoon, but places like TechCrunch (which makes a lot more money than a lot of online newspapers!) have NO expectation AT ALL of having to pay for content they use.

    And why? Because of your “copyright is dead” attitude that puts unrealistic expectations on creators, MOST of whom are not salesmen like you are.

    I do think I have the solution to all this. My company is going to work hard to resuscitate copyright and I do think we’ll be successful, though it’s going to take us a few years to get fully there.

    In the meantime, it just upsets me that we can’t be on the same side here. It’s like you’re making me your enemy and vice-versa.

    Esstentially, this is what you’re saying, Robert: Give it up, *I* have *my* dream, but yours died with copyright law.”

    Is that REALLY what you want???

    Like

  274. Congratulations, Robert. Life balance, passion and purity of spirit – along with the clarity you shared on the decision you faced – clearly shows very well.

    I look forward to viewing more Qiks and those from the FastCompany.TV on March 3.

    Like

  275. Congratulations, Robert. Life balance, passion and purity of spirit – along with the clarity you shared on the decision you faced – clearly shows very well.

    I look forward to viewing more Qiks and those from the FastCompany.TV on March 3.

    Like

  276. If FastCompany is looking for video production talent, I would suggest checking out Ricky Montalvo from Yahoo! Developer Network, he is their video producer and has a lot of skills behind the camera. His fresh look at how video for tech can be made interesting is what we need more of. Congrats on the new gig!

    Like

  277. If FastCompany is looking for video production talent, I would suggest checking out Ricky Montalvo from Yahoo! Developer Network, he is their video producer and has a lot of skills behind the camera. His fresh look at how video for tech can be made interesting is what we need more of. Congrats on the new gig!

    Like

  278. Hi Robert,
    I learned about you through my boss, Bob Giampietro. I am currently reading your book, Naked Conversations, and was happy to hear about this new assignment you’ve taken up with Fast Company. It’s one of my favorite magazine – I read it religiously and it completely makes a difference in my career. All the best on your new adventure.

    Like

  279. Hi Robert,
    I learned about you through my boss, Bob Giampietro. I am currently reading your book, Naked Conversations, and was happy to hear about this new assignment you’ve taken up with Fast Company. It’s one of my favorite magazine – I read it religiously and it completely makes a difference in my career. All the best on your new adventure.

    Like

  280. Well, congrats. Least more stable (mentally, politically and fiscally) than Podtech, and the Scoble Curse, at least here, has more fuel for the eventual burn-out rate. Wish you woulda been here, before. No more crazy start-ups for you. Sigh. ๐Ÿ™‚

    My advice (for what it’s worth) in no particular order.

    1. Make them buy you a Steadi/Glide cam. Tripods are so directional limiting. And plus, Steadicam’s allow cameramen to get away with your jump-hop style.

    2. Stop surrounding yourself with ‘worshipping’ yes-men. It’s nauseating and self-defeating. Rocky (and others) should rake over coals, over the hyper-active puppy-dog lapping. As they say, iron sharpens iron.

    3. Walk-Thru’s and Demo’s are better than talking-heads.

    4. Run-on mega-paragraph sentences are bad, as are, videos.

    5. No inside baseball games. I don’t give an iota of a care what Mike Arrington or Om Malik had for breakfast.

    6. Think Subject Matter Experts, over Tech Celebrities.

    7. Incestuous navel-gazing is bad. Moving photo’s of people taking still photo’s, wheee. Stop covering the bloggers/techies covering themselves, covering themselves.

    8. Impossible perhaps, but background yourself. Let the work speak for itself. Edit as if you aren’t there. Conversations are endless and pointless. Focus and cut. History Channel over mindless never-ending Charlie Rose.

    9. Prepare. The ‘who are you’ fumbling dumb Scoble Show questions, makes for a rough start. Do thy homework and get to the point, fast. Elevator pitch’es, if they can’t do it, they have to learn.

    10. Go documentary thematic, over personality-cult-of-the-moment.

    Like

  281. Well, congrats. Least more stable (mentally, politically and fiscally) than Podtech, and the Scoble Curse, at least here, has more fuel for the eventual burn-out rate. Wish you woulda been here, before. No more crazy start-ups for you. Sigh. ๐Ÿ™‚

    My advice (for what it’s worth) in no particular order.

    1. Make them buy you a Steadi/Glide cam. Tripods are so directional limiting. And plus, Steadicam’s allow cameramen to get away with your jump-hop style.

    2. Stop surrounding yourself with ‘worshipping’ yes-men. It’s nauseating and self-defeating. Rocky (and others) should rake over coals, over the hyper-active puppy-dog lapping. As they say, iron sharpens iron.

    3. Walk-Thru’s and Demo’s are better than talking-heads.

    4. Run-on mega-paragraph sentences are bad, as are, videos.

    5. No inside baseball games. I don’t give an iota of a care what Mike Arrington or Om Malik had for breakfast.

    6. Think Subject Matter Experts, over Tech Celebrities.

    7. Incestuous navel-gazing is bad. Moving photo’s of people taking still photo’s, wheee. Stop covering the bloggers/techies covering themselves, covering themselves.

    8. Impossible perhaps, but background yourself. Let the work speak for itself. Edit as if you aren’t there. Conversations are endless and pointless. Focus and cut. History Channel over mindless never-ending Charlie Rose.

    9. Prepare. The ‘who are you’ fumbling dumb Scoble Show questions, makes for a rough start. Do thy homework and get to the point, fast. Elevator pitch’es, if they can’t do it, they have to learn.

    10. Go documentary thematic, over personality-cult-of-the-moment.

    Like

  282. Pingback: ืžื™ื”ื• ืขื™ืชื•ื ืื™? - ekampf 2.0
  283. Pingback: Naked Buddies @ FastCompany| Zoli’s Blog
  286. Pingback: myONID Blog » Blogger werden zur Marke
  287. Pingback: Budgeting For Internet Video (You Get What You Pay For) | Bill Cammack
  288. Pingback: The Intersection of Traditional and Social - a Paradigm Shift « Truth According to …

  289. Anyone know what ihype.com is about. I am getting many calls from them about signing up

    Like

  290. Anyone know what ihype.com is about. I am getting many calls from them about signing up

    Like

  291. Pingback: Valley PR Blog » Blog Archive » Scoble Going to Fast Company

Comments are closed.