I normally just lurk here, but this one really got me. > One thing I wanted to say over there is that PodTech invested more than a > million dollars in this community (seriously, I have the receipts, we hired > dozens of videobloggers and even had a few on our staff, including people > who are very active on this group). I've personally got tons of people here > paid, some of which got paid more than $100,000 each since PodTech was born.
PodTech was a BUSINESS, not a charity. Whatever money was paid to anyone on this list was a BUSINESS decision. PodTech saw value in the work and thought they could profit from it. Apparently they were mistaken---but don't classify that as some sort of charity. They saw an opportunity to profit, but they failed. PERIOD. > Hint: eventually sponsors and employees get the message and move money away > from a company that isn't getting community support. And, worse, it > definitely demoralizes the employees and makes them far less willing to take > risks on behalf of the community. I think this is BS too. > How many of you have stood up and said thank you to YouTube, Blip.tv, Kyte, > or any of the other companies who are trying to make it possible for you to > distribute your work (and get paid - I know at least one videoblogger who > gets paid more than $10,000 per month thanks to YouTube's advertising > deals)? Some of you have, and that's always appreciated. But most of you > remain silent, or don't look to help out and make sure there are healthy > businesses here. I'm sorry, some of these companies are better than others and are more attentive to people on this list, but once again these are BUSINESSES. Don't forget that we are creating things that are of value to them. Yes, they provide the technology to enable us host for free, but without content that means nothing. The cost of bandwith is rapidly plummeting to the point that this will not even be an issue for too much longer. Although it hasn't happened on a major scale yet, the TOS that we all sign gives these companies the power to syndicate our content all over the place and profit from that in ways that we might not even anticipate yet. --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Scoble" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Gena, > > > > Thanks, this was a very nice Christmas present and a nice way to end a > really great day. Someone just forwarded me your email and I appreciate that > too. > > > > I haven't been able to respond over on the Cheryl page because it keeps > saying my comments are spam, which is funny too. Oh well. > > > > One thing I wanted to say over there is that PodTech invested more than a > million dollars in this community (seriously, I have the receipts, we hired > dozens of videobloggers and even had a few on our staff, including people > who are very active on this group). I've personally got tons of people here > paid, some of which got paid more than $100,000 each since PodTech was born. > > > > Part of my frustration is that the community, rather than cheering on > businesses that are trying to put food on videoblogger's tables, actually > turn and attack and not in a helpful way and when someone is under attack I > don't see many in this community come and stand up against the mob. > > > > I just looked back on the last few days of posts here and I see pretty > predictable results from my outburst. But you didn't get the point. How many > of you stood up when TechCrunch said that PodTech deserved to be in the dead > pool? How many of you stood up when that same blog, or when Valleywag > printed attacks against me? Not many. > > > > Hint: eventually sponsors and employees get the message and move money away > from a company that isn't getting community support. And, worse, it > definitely demoralizes the employees and makes them far less willing to take > risks on behalf of the community. > > > > That's why Cheryl's post about Epic-FU rubbed me the wrong way. I can bite > my lip when it's me under attack (although, no, it's not fun) but when I see > a repeated pattern I felt I needed to speak out about it and this community > has often not been friendly to those of us who are trying to make businesses > that get more of us paid. > > > > Let's turn it away from PodTech. > > > > Have any of you thanked Revision3? Rocketboom? Huffington Post? Federated > Media? Jason Calacanis? (He was attacked here, but my friends who worked for > him say his paychecks never bounced). Leo Laporte? Epic-FU? Or any of the > other people struggling to make money in this new art form? And there are > dozens of others who are trying to build businesses here in the NewTeeVee > industry. > > > > How many of you have stood up and said thank you to YouTube, Blip.tv, Kyte, > or any of the other companies who are trying to make it possible for you to > distribute your work (and get paid - I know at least one videoblogger who > gets paid more than $10,000 per month thanks to YouTube's advertising > deals)? Some of you have, and that's always appreciated. But most of you > remain silent, or don't look to help out and make sure there are healthy > businesses here. > > > > There's tons of others, too. > > > > As to PodTech's run-in with Lan Bui, there's a reason why we were arrogant > in response: those pictures were taken at our party: the Vloggies. An > employee used them without checking because she assumed that the community > would support us and that pictures taken at our own event could be used > without worrying too much and it was on a sign, not something that would > make us tons of money. Turns out she was very wrong (how many of you have > never made a mistake?), but if someone took pictures at your Christmas party > last night, and you used them on your blog, and then that photographer sent > you a bill for $3,000 wouldn't you be a bit miffed? Especially after you > lost tens of thousands of dollars on such party? (PodTech lost a lot of > money on the Vloggies, and, indeed on the videoblogging network it was > trying to build). > > > > Today PodTech is turning away from videoblogging and more toward corporate > content which doesn't pay videobloggers at all - so we all lose. Myself? I'm > moving to something new next month - it'll be fun and I want to take the > community with me, but my eyes are far less idealistic than I was when I > left Microsoft and thought that this community would really be fun to work > with. It doesn't take much business insight to see that this industry, er, > community, is having a tough time coming up with a business model. It > doesn't take sharp eyes to see that this community hasn't rocked and rolled, > even while other video communities have. > > > > Maybe there won't be a good business model for videoblogging (although I > think I've found one and would like to get more people on board), but it > seems to me that when a company is helping pay videobloggers that this > community should have done everything possible to make sure it succeeded. > > > > Me? I'm going to do everything possible that Zadi and Steve succeed, and > succeed wildly. That's how I'll give back to the community. > > > > I really appreciate this note, it's a great Christmas present and makes me > feel like doing even more to help this community. > > > > Robert Scoble > > > ### > > > > _____ > > From: videoblogging@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > On Behalf Of Gena > Sent: Tuesday, December 25, 2007 10:41 PM > To: videoblogging@yahoogroups.com > Subject: [videoblogging] My Amends To Robert Scoble > > > > Robert I want to specifically address an issue you have brought up and > I don't think you were being heard. > > You took a lot of heat concerning the Podtech - Censorship of Loren > debacle. Words were said and mud was flung in all directions. Upon > reflection, I don't think folks separated you from the company or in > fact the actual person that generated the situation in the first place. > > I think we as humans start to classify folks as "personalities" and > not as real people. I met a very nice person (this would be you) a few > years back. We talked as regular folks. To be honest I tend to do > that with everyone I met. But others treat you as "The Scoble" with > reverence. > > The other side of that seems to be intense anger when there is a > disagreement. It is not right but there ya go, it is human. Part of it > is the celebrity thing. The other side of it is somedays we just do > not act according to our better natures. I didn't speak up and say > "Hey, he didn't cause this situation why are you going after him?" > > I have been to other events where folks wouldn't part their lips > toward me because I'm not an "A - Lister". This is a good thing as it > cuts down on the amount of BS I have to produce. I'm aiming for zero > emissions. > > When I look at the comments section of your blog those folks play > rough. I don't know how you can plow through that stuff on a daily > basis. What is scary is that these folks like your writing but are > almost cannibalistic in how they respond to your posts. > > You may or may not have good reason to deal with this group again. I > don't know. But I do want to say that speaking for myself only I > acknowledge the dog piling you received and it wasn't right. For > whatever part I played I'm sorry and I heard what you said. > > Gena > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >
