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I’m in better shape than PodTech…

Sorry for the drought in posting - I imagine there will be a bunch of people wondering what this suddenly active feed in their RSS reader is - well, hello! I’m back from another blogger-hiatus.

That being said: let’s talk about PodTech, the struggling vlog content production/distribution company noteable mainly for its hiring of Robert Scoble away from Microsoft. Word on the street is that PodTech is “restructuring/refocusing/etc.” - initially reported as a coming closure by Daniel Lyons, gleefully repeated by TC, and finally responded to via tweet and vitriolic hyperbolic scoble-post.

What is it that makes the Scoble / PodTech trainwreck so compelling to watch? Perhaps is the rumour-carried ego battles that have defined PodTech’s leadership; perhaps the questionable investment (7.5M according to TC) in a company with a sketchy, ill-defined “build-it-and-maybe-they’ll-come” business model; perhaps Robert’s overly-honest stories of salary and million-dollar real estate acquisitions.

Face it: we all gloat a little when we see a company that sold little more than buzz-word hype crash and burn. It would be like seeing Steve Rubel get hired by Second Life as VP of PR, and then having Second Life fold up six months later - talk about poetic justice.

Anyway, none of this is intended to say that I bear PodTech, Robert, or Steve R. any ill-will - its just an interesting self-exam as to why this story of any has popped me out of my hiatus. I have no doubt that Scoble will land on his feet, and for the sake of the other hard working people at PodTech, I hope the rest of the company can too.

Gawker and Sugar Did it Right

On PodTech’s ability to bounce back: I have my doubts. PodTech seemingly jumped into vlogging with a lot of enthusiasm and little planning… the breadth of subject matter covered and distribution execution suggests that the company is wanted to be a self-contained content network - a new-school MSM network-equivalent.

Compare this to the experiences of other New Networks, like the Pop Sugar or Gawker families: focused verticals are launched independently, building their own high-quality audiences. The parent organization provides network connections, business management, and ad sales. The network can grow in controlled fashion with organic growth of individual properties into their segments, or the addition of new properties when deemed appropriate.

IMHO, PodTech bit off too much - even their squiggly devoid-of-meaning logo speaks of lack of focus. Why didn’t they take a smaller investment and choose a vertical (scoble’s tech scene, for instance) to focus on? I’m all for dreaming big/shooting for the stars/etc. but there are good models of growth to following. Going down the “video” road provided an element of innovation; attempting to launch an entire network at the same time just added risk.

podtech, scoble vlogging

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Before JOOST, there was FireAnt

This is going to be a relatively quick post as I’m at work, up to my eyeballs. That being said, I was skimming Wired this morning and came across an article about Josh Kinberg - a protester who at the 2004 Republican National Convention in NYC created a “dot matrix sidewalk printer bike” - as he rode it around, it printed messages (in water soluble chalk) that people texted to the bike. Of course, he was arrested (read the Wired story), the NYPD are a bunch of freedom-hating goons, and so on.

But - that’s not where Kinberg’s story ends. As the article mentions, he’s now on the opposite coast, involved (as in “founder and ceo”) in a “social media” project called FireAnt.

FireAnt is a desktop media player and RSS aggregator for Windows and Mac. With an integrated guide to Internet TV, the FireAnt player lets users subscribe to, download, and watch videos in multiple media formats, and synchronize video with portable devices, including iPod, PSP, Zen, Archos, Zune, and mobile phones. [from FireAnt > About]

That sounds a lot like JOOST to me, albeit without the major network relationships & content. And, FireAnt, in its current incarnation, has been available since January of ‘06, when it got a glowing review from TC.

Unfortunately, FireAnt appears to be stagnating. Take a look at Alexa and Compete - JOOST hasn’t even launched, and its flattened FireAnt’s very modest growth.

Perhaps its their confusing brand strategy. The site is at “getfireant.com,” though the page title refers to “fireant.tv.” “antisnottv.com” is also floating around out there - it took me a while to parse that out as “ant - is - not - tv.” Perhaps that confrontational relationship with the mainstream consumer’s desired experience (i.e.: watching TV) is why JOOST is buzz-worthy and FireAnt is flat. People like TV. They’re used to it, they know what to expect - its comfortable. JOOST is iterating TV - keeping it comfy and recognizeable, but also recognizably better enough to drive adoption. It appears FireAnt hasn’t found this balance yet.

All of that being said: I’m not going to be able to download and try out the FireAnt application until tonite. Has anyone out there tried it? Share your thoughts in the comments.

fireant, joost, media, podcasting, video vlogging

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