Comments on: Puppet Parody Show Gets Sponsorship; Original FastCompany Show Doesn’t

By: 1938 Media Inks Verizon Deal, CNET Gets Cold Feet

1938 Media Inks Verizon Deal, CNET Gets Cold Feet — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:36:21 +0000

[...] puppet videos are definitely a hit, however, drawing sponsors and, earlier this month, a distribution deal with [...]

By: Why You Must Own Your Own Domain Name | yahoo web hosting

Why You Must Own Your Own Domain Name | yahoo web hosting — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 17:42:09 +0000

[...] puppet. While Shel still needs sponsors for his FastCompany.TV show, ShelIsrael.com and the puppet has a sponsor after a few short [...]

By: TechCrunch en français » [fr] Le vidéo bloggeur Loren Feldman débauché par CNET

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:45:10 +0000

[...] CNET. Loren est connu pour ses vidéos polémiques sur la webosphère. Il a récemment lancé une nouvelle série de Muppet Web incarnant différents acteurs du web qui fonctionne plutôt bien outre-atlantique. Loren Feldman [...]

By: echovar » Blog Archive » When Search splinters, will large pools of the Web go dark?

Mon, 26 May 2008 18:22:58 +0000

[...] importance. But since users rarely look beyond the second page of search results, all the rest is a puppet show. The business of Search is the quality of the first two pages of search results. For that search, [...]

By: OMFG

OMFG — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:20:48 +0000

Wow. Make that double wow. With a side of OMFG. Everyone seems to be lampooning Shel for mishandling this and slapping Lauren on the back but, the whole thing seems to have driven traffic in both directions and elevated all of these guys to the top of the conversation.

Which is when it hit me…bloggers blogging about other bloggers is the ‘net equivalent of reality TV. Watching this train wreck is cat nip to technogeeks just like Top Model is for women over the age of 14.

Shel is the new Omarosa of the blogosphere

By: Huh??

Huh?? — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 02:06:25 +0000

@ Paul

Robert is right here. One just has to laugh along…the puppets really are funny. BTW, when you wrote

“@Scoble: You dear friend are an idiot if you think this is funny considering Shel is on your FastCompany.tv lineup and gets mocked constantly. There is nothing funny about this for you and for you to even say that is funny publicly can only be a blow to Shel’s confidence. Hell, if I owned FastCompany I would be wondering how a puppet gets more play then someone I am paying.”

But didn’t you just answer yourself at the end there? FastCompany can’t compete with puppets — it’s a business magazine, for God’s sake.

Can even such runaway business world publication successes like the Wall Street Journal, or Financial Times beat funny puppets?

Kermit rocks their readership.
Family Guy pwns their circulation (not puppets, granted, but similar to Loren’s crew).

Getting all high and mighty over this just make you look foolish, Paul.

Besides, think of how many new viewers FastCompany is getting via the puppets — after all, you don’t get the joke until you’ve seen the original… I’d love it if someone else took on the cost and risk of creating and promoting a series of joke vids about one of my own projects… Think about it for a while.

It’s better than a run-of-the-mill (AKA “boring”) review on a blog or tech site could ever be.

By: Robert Scoble

Robert Scoble — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:02:54 +0000

Mr Enzine: I gave Shel Israel $20,000 of my own money out of my own pocket to fund him for two months. I’m working hard to get him a sponsor (and for a lot more than the few hundred dollars that the puppets were paid). We’ve helped him shoot several of his shows. We paid for him to fly around the world to get interviews with General Motors CEO, Disney, and others.

I really don’t give a hoot about whether you are laughing or not. My shows are interesting to tons of people (I’ve done more than 1,000 interviews and have gathered audiences of millions of people).

Who cares about Rackspace? Well, they have 2,200 employees and are rumored to be going IPO.

By: Thinking about Hoot the Owl, Scoble, and Fast Company’s brand : The Last Podcast

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:20:35 +0000

[...] is what Scoble had to say about the branding of FastCompany as ‘boring’ in the TechCrunch comments: Some other brands that are being hooked [...]

By: A brief followup on the Shel Israel v. Loren Feldman drama : The Blog Herald

A brief followup on the Shel Israel v. Loren Feldman drama : The Blog Herald — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 05:11:07 +0000

[...] interesting I believe is that Loren has secured a sponsor for his puppet show while FastCompany has yet to secure a sponsor for Shel’s real [...]

By: Mr Enzine

Mr Enzine — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:33:53 +0000

Scoble,
The earlier comment should be a wake up call. You don’t support your people only yourself. If I worked at Fastcompany I would fire your butt tomorrow. Not only do you make a bad hire but you let him get fried in the market.

You my friend are full of ego. You make Fastcompany look bad who cares about Rackspace. Feldman crushed you and all you do is say ‘this is funny’. News flash it isn’t funny for you - you’re the joke. It’s only funny for all of us.

By: Michael Krigsman

Michael Krigsman — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:58:37 +0000

Merredith,

As you suggested, Shel and Scoble are serious guys doing substantive and worthwhile work in a new medium.

Loren is a satirist whose single goal seems to be gaining page views by criticizing others in an exaggerated manner. His self-centered approach gains viewers because he’s not bound by the usual dictates of honesty or integrity. People love spectacle and entertainment, even when substance is lacking.

Every now and then I enjoy Loren’s videos because he’s got his schtick down. Likewise, every now and then I watch an episode of the Real Housewives of Orange County. It’s forgettable garbage, but an occasional view is entertaining.

Shel and Scoble are true pioneers. Let’s not lose sight of that.

Michael Krigsman
http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures

By: Technology + Puppets: Harmless Fun Or Harbingers Of Doom? » Webomatica - Technology and Entertainment Digest

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:27:18 +0000

[...] Anyhow, TechCrunch reports that the Loren Feldman / Shel Israel puppet video show has lined up a sp…. I feel it’s totally deserved. [...]

By: Ike

Ike — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:31:39 +0000

@Merredith - I’ve heard a slightly different take on that quote:

“Never argue with an idiot — he’ll just drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.”

Which dovetails nicely with the Latin: Illegitami Non Est Disputandum (Don’t let the bastards get you down.)

By: Merredith

Merredith — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:11:54 +0000

I think Michael Krigsman has it about right; TC was played for pageviews, along the lines of the prank at CES - but this time it got personal. Many of us checked out Loren’s site and rolled our eyes, never to return. Shel and Robert are geeks taking on a new medium - that’s an easy target - but Scoble’s right: when we have time to actually learn something, we’re better off going to FastCompanytv instead of a site that uses puerile cheap shots instead of actual wit. LF’s puppets don’t bring me enough of value to merit my time.

The whole mini-drama keeps reminding me of Samuel Clemens’ remark: “Never argue with a fool; onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”

By: 3by9 » 3 Brands vs. 1 Puppet: Guess Who Wins

3by9 » 3 Brands vs. 1 Puppet: Guess Who Wins — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:00:06 +0000

[...] time for the Scoble part of this entry. Arrington breaks a story that the puppet show gets a sponsor when Shel’s show can’t. That’s a blow no matter how you want to [...]

By: Miky

Miky — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 10:40:24 +0000

Just a matter of time before we see the puppet interviewing the real Shel Israel on Seesmic.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:47:43 +0000

Well done to them for getting the backing. I am really annoyed with myself. I started thinking about doing video podcasts with puppets around 4 weeks ago… why they hell did I not just order those dang puppets! grrr

Anywho

By: Marcos El Malo

Marcos El Malo — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:32:32 +0000

@gregory

The comments are the funniest part.

By: odd time signatures » Blog Archive » Puppet Parodies and Peace Treaties

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 05:36:39 +0000

[...] complicating things, Loren’s show was picked up by a sponsor today and Shel’s hasn’t been. Yet. They are looking for [...]

By: gregory

gregory — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 05:16:34 +0000

and, me, i thought this post was a humor column…

By: gregory

gregory — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 05:15:23 +0000

dave johnson, pre-school was puppets, school and college… robots

By: Dave Johnston

Dave Johnston — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 02:30:23 +0000

Wait, did Scoble take me seriously up a few lines?

Oh, and thanks for the compliment, Mike.

And thanks as well to all the TechCrunch readers that go into Fight Club mode immediately when the see something they don’t like or agree with. You keep my entertainment stream running like clockwork.

By: http://www.meetingflex.com/index.html

http://www.meetingflex.com/index.html — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:46:00 +0000

The way the Web 2.0 works.

http://www.meetingflex.com/index.html
Internet Web Meeting

By: Michael Krigsman

Michael Krigsman — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:20:14 +0000

Is this Tech Crunch or Valleywag? I know the chicken in Palo Alto made threatening gestures and all that, but seriously, what’s this all about?

Shel and Scoble are doing interesting and worthwhile things, Loren picks a fight to get page views, and everyone jumps on the bandwagon.

Mike, you were played by Loren. Sorry, dude, but that’s what happened.

Michael Krigsman
http://blogs.zdnet.com/projectfailures

By: ineedhits Australia

ineedhits Australia — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:17:44 +0000

Dave, Good to see someone take the lighter side here amongst this warzone