Valleywag
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acquisitions
PodTech sells for $500,000, which will hopefully cover its debts
PodTech, the online video startup left to reliving better days when charming shill Robert Scoble was a frontman for the company, has found a buyer, ViewPartner, and for the paltry sum of $500,000. Hopefully the company's creditors will be getting more than a few pennies back on their dollars — the company has been at the mercy of their bankers, and one commenter says that they were racking up tabs with vendors. VCs like US Ventures and Venrock probably won't be getting any of the more than $5.5 million invested in the company, however. Founder and chairman John Furrier must be relieved, as he was all smiles at recent reunion of DEMO conference attendees.(Photo by Brian Solis, bub.blicio.us) -
rumormonger
Robert Scoble's former employer PodTech about to get sold
PodTech, once described by Valleywag emeritus Nick Douglas as "the video podcast network apparently dedicated to screwing over as many people as possible without actually profiting from it," will be sending out a cheery press release touting its acquisition as soon as today, I've been told. The company has also been meeting with potential clients who are being told that the company's just fine, thanks. Except what did the acquirer buy? Not inexplicable geek celebrity Robert Scoble, who decamped for Fast Company months ago, and was the company's only real, if questionable, claim to fame. More » -
Robert Scoble reruns now airing on PodTech
What, you didn't catch all 55 minutes of Robert Scoble discussing Adobe's launch of CS3 last year? Now struggling startup PodTech is posting "Classic Scoble" clips so you can not watch them all over again. [PodTech]
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sam sethi
BlogNation leader blames TechCrunch for startup's fall
One would think the nasty three-way between BlogNation's Sam Sethi, his unpaid editors, and Michael Arrington, his former boss at TechCrunch, would be over. Sethi is stepping down and putting the Euro-focused startup blog up for auction. But, no, the saga continues. More » -
confirmed
Leaving PodTech, Scoble finally finds a real job
In January, professional job hunter Robert Scoble will leave PodTech, the Web-video network he made semi-famous, then thoroughly infamous, a tipster tells us. Where's he headed? TechCrunch says Fast Company, which makes sense, since he already writes a column for the magazine. But Scoble denies the rumor. Sort of. More » -
breaking
Scoble retires!
This just in from the wires! "For 18 years, I have had one of the best jobs on the planet," said Scoble. Who knew PodTech had been around so long? More » -
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loser-generated content
Vloggies reborn from PodTech's ashes as "Winnies"
Irina Slutsky of Geek Entertainment TV has found a way to carry on her idea of celebrating the best in video podcasting. Under PodTech, where Slutsky brought the awards last year, the event was badly mismanaged. Slutsky left Podtech, but the "Vloggies" name remained with PodTech. Former CEO John Furrier "openly" trademarked "Vloggies" shortly after firing the event's organizer. At the Winnies, in a dig to PodTech, which failed to have a sufficient number of Vloggies awards made last year, attendees will bring their own, old trophies to swap "instead of wasting money on 'made in Hong Kong' trophies." Oh, and it gets better. More » -
robert scoble
Scobleizer says shutdown rumor is "bull####"
Robert Scoble, the king of mindless time-wasting afternoon desktop entertainment — at least for me — blogs a denial of senior Forbes staffer Dan Lyons's claim that PodTech, Scoble's employer, is shutting down soon. As Scobleizer correctly fumes, had Lyons posted the rumor for his mag instead of on his semi-fictional blog, he would've been forced to at least call someone at PodTech for a reaction first. Still, Scoble's wrong when he claims I propagated the rumor because I "compete" with him. Robert, you're one of my best free content providers. Don't ever go! -
online video
Why am I writing about Fake Steve Jobs blogging about Scoble?
PodTech, home to videoblogger Robert Scoble, is shutting down, says Fake Steve Jobs blogger and Forbes senior editor Dan Lyons. "Everybody in the Valley is just really bumming out," reports Fake Steve. "Except that of course everyone is also really heartened by this because it really confirms that the Web 2.0 model is viable and is really going to be huge." I'm sorry for the PodTech folks, but I have to ask: Does Lyons think the real Steve Jobs cares? UPDATE: Scobleizer says it's a "bull####" rumor. -
john furrier
Former PodTech employee loses at Facebook poker
Now that PodTech founder John Furrier is without a day job, how will he fill his free time, now that he doesn't have to manage Robert Scoble? Probably with the same hobby he appears to have wiled away his time while still on duty at his online video network: hounding bloggers and Facebook members. In the waning days of his employment at his own company, Furrier treated Tree Shapiro, a near-septuagenarian ex-professional gambler from Boston, to the full treatment on Facebook. Shapiro is relatively new to "this internets kick" but, as he says, he knows his tells. Shapiro ably dispatched the startup entrepreneur and provided this observation:I love the way he tries to order me around like I work for him. His family must fucking hate him.
The complete Facebook exchange after the jump. More »
podtech
San Francisco, 7:20 PM
Thu Dec 4
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