Scoble’s New Thing: Building 43

[vaksel]

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/14/scobles-new-thing-building-43/

[tptacek]

I have a question maybe someone here can answer for me. It's going to sound snarky but I don't mean it to be.

What is Scoble's biggest industry success so far? Not career success; I mean, what's the thing he's best known for accomplishing?

[ojbyrne → tptacek]

He had something to do with Dave Winer's Userland Software - that developed early blogging software (Radio). Probably his biggest success, though, is his blog.

[blasdel → ojbyrne]

He fits into a similar niche of inane punditry as Winer, except s/software/marketing/g and s/entrepreneur/leech/g.

People seem to find his enthusiasm endearing, unlike Winer (who has profound mental health problems).

[tptacek → blasdel]

What are Winer's profound mental health problems?

[ojbyrne → tptacek]

Wealth.

[TomOfTTB → tptacek]

Because we don't know the traffic levels I can't say it is, for a fact, a success but Channel9 would probably be your answer. It was originally started by several 'softies but Scoble became the whole show and it stayed that way until he left.

Again, I don't have any traffic numbers but Microsoft still has Channel9 up and they still spends all that money on bandwidth so I have to assume it's considered a success to them.

[swombat → TomOfTTB]

So basically, he's an entertainer? (not a negative question... just asking. I don't follow Scoble, Winer, or most of that crowd)

[ojbyrne → swombat]

He's a PR person, basically. There's a glut of them in Silicon Valley.

[TomOfTTB → swombat]

I'm not sure I'd call him that. He interviews other people. So he's sort of like a geeky Oprah.

So what ever you'd call a geeky Oprah, that's what he is :)

[unalone → tptacek]

I know him from his days with the Microsoft team. He brought a real enthusiasm that I didn't notice from many other people in the industry back then.

Does that count as a success? That's why people still read him, anyway.

[jwb119]

I'm just as curious about Scoble's new relationship with Rackspace as I am about his new project.

[swombat → jwb119]

You forgot something. Here, let me lend you mine:

<heavy_sarcasm_dripping_with_cynicism>

</heavy_sarcasm_dripping_with_cynicism>

[joshu]

This is bizarre. He's naming it after... another company's building?

I didn't understand it until the article explained it. And I really ought to have gotten it.

Definitely trying to hard.