Instead, PodTech's buyers get a company that may not have been paying employees after a "reorg" and was pretty much entirely in hock to its bankers, says our tipster. On the one hand, the company has tried to drum up new business while on the other, quiet calls were being made behind the scene looking to unload what scant assets the company held — kudos to the unnamed acquirer for picking up "classic Robert Scoble!" Might we suggest removing "Pod" from the name of the company? With the iPod displaced by the iPhone and podcasting moribund, it's what the cool kids like Adam Curry are doing.

Sitting through the Search SIG panel last night I kept worrying the speakers were going to pants Wikia Search’s Jeremie Miller Nick Sullivan. Such a delicate little man, yet so much holier than thou. At one point Jason Calacanis said outright that Wikia Search would fail and that it's goal was simply to make Jimmy Wales rich. I think I actually heard Jeremie's Nick's heart break in response.

The problem with Jeremie Miller Nick Sullivan (and by association Wikia Search) is that he believes by using open source he can do no evil. He was adamant that since Google makes decisions about what you see in your search results the world needs an open source search site. For freedom! But even Wikia Search has to create a system to rank results. There are many that bemoan the politics of the Wikipedia system, so why should Wiki Search be any better?

Jeremie would like you to think that Wiki Search is a tool created by the common man, but even he knows the truth. He let slip that 99.5% of his users never add any content to the site. I'm not sure how one could call a site built by the top 1/2 of 1% of all users 'open'. I think even the Bush tax cuts were more inclusive than that.

I was hoping to report on some wild accusation made by Jason Calacanis, but he turned out to be the most level-headed one on the panel. Even FriendFeed's cofounder and CEO Bret Taylor admitted to his site's deficiencies. But I will take the smarmy look of Jeremie Miller with me to the grave. Although if Jason has it right, at least I won't have to look at his site for much longer.

Update: Nick Sullivan writes to point out that he was the lamb despatched to the slaughter, filling in for Wikia's Jeremie Miller. Sullivan disputes his delicacy — after all, he did gamely step in front of the Calacanis bus.

• Don't say anything that might just as well be said in an email, i.e. "I'm sorry Steve, it's going to have to be $37."
• Don't forget how many people are listening. For example, do not say: "Oops, hope nobody notices the smell."
• Don't follow people you've never met. Exception: Diablo Cody.
• Don't follow Jason Calacanis.
• Don't add too many followers too fast. Like any dangerous recreational narcotic, one has to build one's tolerance before ignoring the Surgeon General's warnings.
• Don't expect timely and informative responses to your Twittered queries. Or for anyone to read them. Twitter is a heat sink for the unexpressed ego.
• Don't Twitter things that would be better said in person. Example: "@George, No, I won't marry you. It's the halitosis."
• Don't try to share your political, religious or business views in 140 characters. It takes more words to obfuscate how simple and derivative they are.
• Don't follow Robert Scoble.
• Don't follow bloggers who write about Twitter just to have an excuse to include a link to their Twitter account. They will bombard you with links to their blog posts, because they are paid by pageviews.

• Fans versus friends: Be careful who you call a friend, especially in public. Because they may very well publicly deny said friendship. Awkward! Instead, say you're a fan — you show your respect without requiring their reciprocation. On the other hand, be nice to your own fans, since they're the ones who rabidly defend you in the comments and show up to your parties.
• Pre-empt gossip: Get caught snogging someone of the wrong age, class or gender? See a flash pop as you lean into that pile of drugs for a whiff? Spin it in public yourself before the gossip hounds and rumor mill can spin it for (and against) you.
• Think before you publish: Every appearance made and project undertaken by a star is considered from multiple career angles before it's agreed to. You might call your Twitter updates about bowel movements "radical personal transparency." Others call it "bad business decision."
• Personal grooming: You might be able to show up on the Google campus in a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops. That doesn't mean you should show up at the Webbys in the same outfit. If you make a pile of VC cash or flip your company, you might want to consider spending some of it at Barneys and getting a decent haircut.
• Don't swim without a buddy: Going out on the town, or just to South by Southwest? Bring a friend who knows these rules as well or better than you do. You never know when you'll need someone to push you into a cab or knock that tell-tale, post-rehab martini out of your hand just before getting run over by on-rushing Flickr users.
• Hire professional help: To some, this all comes quite naturally. They're called lawyers, stylists, managers, publicists, agents and the like. They make it their business to know these things, and can offer an invaluable objective perspective when your own vision is blinded by the glare of stardom. And they'll often volunteer when you're young and illiquid if they can trust you to be loyal when you cash in.
• Don't slag your competition — much: Fame, as Emily Dickinson once wrote, is a fickle food. There's a fine line between friendly competitive posturing and creating lifelong enemies. You really don't want to piss off someone you might eventually find yourself begging, on hands and knees, to hire or acquire you.
• Have a sense of humor, and humility: This is, by far, the most important, both for your public image and for your own self esteem. The Internet is not, in the grand scheme of things, serious business. We all get planted in the ground eventually. Have some fun and keep it all in perspective.

Recently in Amsterdam Scoble brought great embarrassment to the conference organization by not keeping his hands to himself. Every woman that had her picture taken with him was squeezed against him with his hands going everywhere.

What got people really upset was that he couldn't keep his hands of 17 year old Jessica Mah during the conference after party. He was all over her in the VIP room. The organization was paranoid about pictures being taken, which is why you hardly will find any. In this picture she is laying on his lap.

But unlike our tipster, we're inclined to give Scoble a pass. He a Silicon Valley archetype: the high school nerd unhinged by newfound digital fame. In his mind, he's still 17 himself. Having never had the experience of popularity in high school, he's recreating it now. And by that logic, there's nothing wrong with him snuggling with a girl who, if not so precocious, would be in high school herself.

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Robert Scoble [is] the most popular independent blogger in the technology space. I have to say, not being able to land Robert to work at Mahalo is the biggest mistake I've made so far — I so blew it. Fast Company is really lucky to have him. Grrrrrr ...

I love the internet? Oh come on Owen, I love everything, not just tech women and the internet. Yes, EVERYTHING. I especially love Virtual Worlds. Speaking of which, last night, the multiple login thing, I was talking about using something like Open ID to transfer online identity between multiple virtual spaces or social platforms. Not logging into myspace and facebook at the same time, I was just using that as an example, obviously a poor one :P

It was good meeting you last night and yes Owen, I love you too.

Soon!

• The view from Elon Musk's Tesla:

• The view from Calacanis's Corvette. Note: It's a base model. Apparently, Weblogs money wasn't enough for Calacanis to afford a real Corvette.

(Photo by Robert Scoble)