So Podtech is apparently unhappy with the post I wrote last evening - What’s Really Going On With Podtech? First Podtech subsequeCEO John Furrier emailed me repeatedly this morning asking for changes, then later Robert Scoble wrote on Twitter that much of my post was incorrect. It may well be incorrect, but it is certainly what I believe to be true after the extensive research I did on the company.
This is a post that Podtech pleaded with me to write, to counter the massive negative publicity they’ve been getting around the blogosphere. I agreed to write after two phone conversations with Furrier and some independent digging suggested that the whole story was not being told.
Much of Furrier and I talked about in our two conversation was off record at his request. But if Scoble, and executive with the company, is going to publicly state that the post is inaccurate I’m not sure its appropriate for me to keep that information non-public. Also, I’ve kept most of my personal opinions about Podtech to myself so far. I haven’t for example, said that I personally find 90% of Podtech content just slightly more entertaining than watching paint dry.
I stand by my opinion that Podtech is on the right track by focusing on aggregating third party content under its Flash player and advertising network and moving away from the highly-competitive content creation game. I assume that’s what they are focusing on, since John told me that repeatedly.
I write stuff how I see it, which is not always what the companies involved want to see. Never confuse TechCrunch with your PR or marketing team. And if your messaging isn’t clear, don’t shoot the messenger. Clean up your own mess first.
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I don’t know of that many VC funded pure content plays that have been very successful. The content sites that make it big are generally made up of one or two people who feel very passionately about a topic, and just want to write about it. They are mostly self funded. When you start paying people to write, early in the game, there is a very slippery slope. The ROI on paid content is not very high.
If indeed they have a dire need for cash as you say, $2M is not going to carry them very far content wise, unless they disruptively change things and map a new direction.
Nicely said, grammar issues aside.
just get them drunk tonight and get them on the record :p
The name/domain are an issue - you’re half expecting some kind of iPod in-car audio hacking enthusiast community that couldn’t afford their preferred dot.com. And can someone explain why the logo has a broken slinky instead of an O (and why it doesn’t include the .net)? And where’s the PDG+creative built Facebook app?!
/me facepalms
@N.Cauldweell I thought that was a bouncing basketball.
I never really got into any of their content. I follow Scoble and occasionally tune in, but that’s about it.
As far as Podtech goes…eh…never really enjoyed their content (scoble was better when he edited his content down to a few minutes imho) and the technology just doesn’t seem to be there as far as mobilization of said content. As for the new direction I’m not sure how much value an internet production company could add. As a software developer I’ve seen how protective people can be of their ideas and how reluctant they are to sell a piece of those ideas off to a company. So in the internet video space and in a world with services like Amazon’s S3 I don’t see a lot of people beating down Podtech’s door.
More importantly though, and I just want to say this even though I know I’m going to feel stupid and obnoxious for saying it. But in response to…
“Much of Furrier and I talked about in our two conversation was off record at his request. But if Scoble, and executive with the company, is going to publicly state that the post is inaccurate I’m not sure its appropriate for me to keep that information non-public.”
Yeah, don’t do that. I mean, and here comes the stupid and obnoxious part but…oh god…two wrongs don’t make a right (could that have been more cheezy). More importantly, you shouldn’t sacrifice you own integerity because of someone else’s lack of integrity. Revealing any off the record stuff makes it harder for other people who are legitimate and straight forward to talk to you.
I have always enjoyed Scoble’s writing but never dug podtech. I watched his interviewed with Bill Gates and that has been it. Those videos are like watching paint dry. I never understood how the company planned to make any money.
“I write stuff how I see it, which is not always what the companies involved want to see. Never confuse TechCrunch with your PR or marketing team. And if your messaging isn’t clear, don’t shoot the messenger. Clean up your own mess first.”
The exact reason why we all come here… I am with Arrington on this one…
Last week in Seattle, at an event called the Naked Truth, Michael laid out clearly the risk/reward that companies run when pitching stories to him. Ultimately, that’s the beauty of something like TechCrunch vs. traditional or mainstream media… Michael can write whatever the hell he likes.
OH SNAPZ
Good Job Mr. Arrington; I’m a new tech crunch reader and I’m glad that you’re being objective and sticking to good journalism in this instance.
Online start ups, while they may get good PR at tech crunch and mashable when they open their doors, shouldn’t expect bloggers to act as propaganda machines to talk down bad news.
Thanks for speaking your mind Michael and standing up to these guys.
PodTech is an extremely boring site, the content there is awful. Has it ever occured to anyone over there that there are Podcasts or video outside of the blogosphere? How about something entertaining for a chance. I could care less about how bad Calicanis is at basketball, or the dumb Sinatra videos. Seriously, who sites down at night and decides to watch this crap instead of TV?? Nothing is helpful, it’s just lame videos or podcasts full of self promotion.
“Dear Podtech: I’m Not Your VP Marketing” - the title, lol
PT, you can always buy a $10K sponsorship box on TC if you want marketing
Ohhhh! Gotta love the Praeteritio in this entry. Best figure of speech if used correctly!
SWEET!
Ouch!
Oh, and I still never heard of podtech until scoble went there.
I wonder why they didn’t use some of the cashola to secure the .com domain?
This post is simply wonderful
keep up the good work. LOL !
Strange site. Seems like it needs some focus…
NEWS BLURB: Podtech dying. Almost no one cares.
Classic. Best post yet…
Michael, not to worry, Furrier says everything and anything, taking it back the next day, or when the drink wears off. Paul and Steve sure bet on a dodo.
Oh, this is getting good!
*Runs and grabs popcorn*
OK, I just went and looked at podtech.net. Wow, its horrible. Actually, I’m not even sure what it is or what they are trying to accomplish. Who wants to watch videos about IBM SOA conferences? I say queue up the dead pool…
pwn3d.
I would suggest that burning an “off the record” source, no matter how annoyed you are at them, is probably not a good idea. The phrase “cutting off your nose to spite your face” comes to mind.
Just imagine if the NY Times changed its motto from “All the News that’s fit to print” to “All the News that may well be incorrect, but it is certainly what we believe to be true after … extensive research …”
Give me a break Podtech. I read your article” What’s Really Going On With Podtech?” then went over and took a look. Frankly, I’d rather watch paint dry. And the corporate shows- what could possibly be worse than a show from-uh- symantec, lets see maybe, intel, or hp, or seagate or cisco or the king of the bottom feeders Verizon. I for one would have avoided just about all those guys at any cost. Oh, maybe Seagate is ok- I don’t know. Like I said, I’d rather watch paint dry, at least I wouldn’t have to deal with the “suits”!
I’ve always been suspisious of Podtech ever since a friend got a ride with John in Vegas in his chauffeured limo back when they did the Bloghaus. Appeared they were all riding high and blowin cash like mad men. And, for all the bullshit Scoble has burp’d out about transparency on Apple & Google, he’s pretty silent now. They are having their own Dell Hell and yet they aren’t working the blogsphere. They’re defying everything Scoble and the transparency minions have preached for the last few years. Doesn’t Robert realize his reputation is going down the drain fast. Where is he, hanging out with Michael Dell getting advice on how to totally blow it.
Even before this crises, I hadn’t seen a single ounce of improvement in the production quality of anything Scoble/PodTech has done. And Calicanis is even worse. Concentrate on the camera, the audience Jason. Don’t any of you watch TV to see how engagement is done? Cringley set the bar early for quality talking heads interviews even though it took a notoriously expensive crew to do them. Scoble lowered the bar under the veil of amateur produced junk. Now we are moving to semi-professional talking heads (Talking Heads - 2.0) with GigaOm but still not up to the quality of Cringely.
Not surprised at all that PodTech may take a dirt nap. It’s time to weed out the weak, the amateur, and the less talented. Here’s to Talking Heads - 3.0!
3rd grade vocabulary and crappy journalism at its worst. Only if Mike was consistently objective would this type of thing matter. Knowing he writes good about companies who invite him for drinks or food and not so good about those who keep him in the dark, who really gives a damn ?
I just watched a clip - well half of it. You were in it - Bad Sinatra II. It wasn’t that bad.
David…Only the truely committed or geeky fans of the Gillmor Gang would say Bad Sinatra wasn’t half bad!
I mean, HuH? I loved the Gillmor Gang, probably one of the best Podcasts done to date but Sinatra is a…a…a…uhhhh…hmmm, can’t even find a word for it.
PXLated: PodTech did NOT pay for those limos. Those were Seagate’s limos at CES.
You do note that Cringley hasn’t done many more of his shows while in the past year I’ve put up 367 videos, right? Why did he only do a handful and I’ve done more than 300? Because his cost way too much to produce and were never going to be profitable.
If my video quality is so uninteresting why has traffic on my show been increasing lately?
To Mike Arrington: I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have argued with you on Twitter. But we’re not getting out of the content business.
This is getting sillier by the minute. And, yet, this is the kind of stuff — and people — that make headlines. I’ll never understand it.
Word.
Fill in the blank:
1) “Arguing on Twitter is like…”
2) “Poor defenseless podtech! Won’t someone think of the podtechs?!”
Oh wait, I already finished #2. Sorry.
“You do note that Cringley hasn’t done many more of his shows while in the past year I’ve put up 367 videos, right?”
But one of cringelys not published videos is still more interesting than any of your 367 videos. I could not make it through more than 2 minutes of one yours… I think I have watched two videos of yours for more than one minutes since you joined Podtech. Your content has just gotten more and more boring since you left MS. Where’s your fire, Man?
Maybe you should take your son and go in the mountains and really breath some fresh air and ponder some new ideas. God knows you both could use the work out.
Anyone notice how testy Scoble has been lately? Where’s the jolly old fellow that we all knew from Microsoft?
Everyone at Valleywag says thanks, Mike. It’s about time someone chimed in with us.
I know both Furrier and Arrington. I’ve read Arrington and TC for a while and listened to Furrier when he did his podcasts. I’ve watch both of these guys talk and work. I would love to see a heavyweight web 2.0 blog/podcast or ustream bout for the Web 2.0 title - a cage match between Arrington and Furrier. Winner takes the offical title of Web 2.0 winner.
No offense Arrington but Furrier trumps you in Web 2.0. My bet is on Furrier.
Lokprakash: I don’t know, I’m hanging out in Chris Pirillo’s UStream tonight and having lots of fun. Come join us. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/chris-pirillo-live
I can’t win, though. People complain when I do my stupid laugh too much on my videos.
I agree with Mike on this one, however a person is allowed to react. I think podtech is not in an enviable position, but if Scoble disagrees and says so over a twitter that’s his prerogative. Your article rings true with me, and your response here is the way I would respond with the exception of two parts. Both revolve around your “off the record” paragraph.
You’re clearly allowing the reactions of PT execs to anger you (and I imagine Furrier’s emails about edits were more inappropriate than Scoble simply twittering his disagreement). We all know not to email angry, same applies to blogging. It’s clear you’re losing focus and “delving into the muck.”
Bringing up that you don’t think keeping off the record information is appropriate anymore should not have been in this post, it sounds reactionary and petty. I for one see that if you were being personally attacked on your research that it would make sense to divulge the events, but this is one of those things that blows over in 24 hours (and according to Scoble, already has). For this small issue it makes sense to craft a well thought out, logical post that displays obvious fallacies and issues with assuming what will show up in TC (I love that he begged you to write it and then was unhappy with the result).
Also we all need to go back to grammar class, myself included - I’m sure I’ve made some mistakes here.
Well, the PodTech content may or may not be awful - but the site is way better than it was last time I took a look. At least they got half a clue.
I’m not surprised to hear about the the attack of The Semiliterate CEO at all. Such a smell is coming off Furrier that I would not be surprised to see him doing a perp walk at some point in the future.
Meanwhile, Robert Scoble is pretty much held hostage by Podtech. With a wife also employed there, a child to support and another imminent, he has to play along until he can get the hell out of there. If will be interesting to hear what he has to say once Furrier is history.
Well, Michael, don’t you think that this is the problem of most Web 2.0 companies? They don’t get PR, they undervalue PR, and they then get pissy when they have no real messaging.
“Well, Michael, don’t you think that this is the problem of most Web 2.0 companies? They don’t get PR, they undervalue PR, and they then get pissy when they have no real messaging.”
Podtech is combining the worst of Web 2.0 with the worst of Web 1.0– that is to say, they’re not entirely sure how they’re going to make money, but before they solve that problem they’re going to blow through a bunch of cash making stuff that very few people notice and fewer care about.
Hint to Podtech: On a popular video site, advertising will pay your HOSTING bills. That’s why the successful video sites host other people’s content. NOTHING will pay the content creation bills, unless if you have discovered a subscription model that thousands of people will happily use.
Hint to Scoble: Maybe you should discuss things at your “meetings” other than how to shit all over the largest industry blog.
Podtech Shmodtech. From Podtech I only pay attention to my old friend Jeremiah Owyang. I know him, I trust him, I’ve podcasted with him. I couldn’t care less about Bad Sinatra.
Mike writes what he wants, when he wants, about what company he wants. The cool thing is that some very small companies have received the TC blessing and have sky rocketed to fortune and fame.
The bad, is of course Mike is in the spot to be opinionated as he see fit, he is after all human like the rest of us reading his blog.
Podtech: I know nothing about them beyond the Scoble is the VP, that he loves doing videos with people (and again, giving smaller companies/people exposure), and that pretty much is it.
Can you build something on that? Sure, you can market anything. Will it sell to the mainstream? Maybe.
I believe there is a lot of truth to the original story that was posted. Podtech is in need of guidance, or they are stuck in Web -1.0 thinking in a Web 2.9 world.
That sucks, as there is a lot of promise there, but I think the driver of the Podtech bus missed his last turn and is driving straight off a cliff right now. How to fix that?
Focused direction, more entertaining shows (if that is what you are becoming; a straight up video company), but mainly - Focused leadership can save a promising venture.
Rex
The original post on PodTech reminds us how good TechCrunch used to be and why there is a “Crunch” in the brand.
Unfortunately, party invitation and giveaways now seem to have become the content of choice over the traditional insightful and honest reporting.
How about separate sites for all the non-reporting stuff? May I suggest PartyCrunch, GiveawayCrunch and FacebookHypeCrunch.
More of the real thing, please!
This is why I love TechCrunch!
I think people forget that most of your posts are just personal opinions, which only hold up if others agree with you.
For me, Podtech content has been the ONLY moderate length web video content I have ever watch from beginning to end. Both Scoble and Calcanis have really put together some great episodes. Why? Because I am actually in the tech industry instead of just reporting on it. The episodes I have seen proved valuable enough to sit and watch for 30+ minutes, which is not an easy task sitting at a desk.
That’s just my opinion.