That big sucking sound you hear is the disappearance of Robert Scoble from the tech blogging scene. Don’t believe me? Count his posts. Ask yourself how “tech” are they these days? See what I mean? Gone. pfffft… no more Scoble. Okay, buh-bye, we’ll miss you and your excited ravings, Robert. Fortunately, the blogosphere abhors a vacuum, and coming up fast are two new faces in the tech blogging world. Mr. Steve Rubel, formerly some kind of marketing guy probably best remembered for dodging the ethics bullet in the Edelman/Wal-mart blog scandal has declared himself technoid, and a wonderful thing this is! Rubel says, “Tech bloggers (and I put myself squarely in this group)” have become lazy. Then he vows to mend his slackadaisical bovine ways. No longer will people seeking dry details about bits and bytes, speeds and feeds, chip-sets and semiconductor properties of rare earth elements need to consult with a boring old engineer who probably has adhesive tape mending the bow on his coke bottle glasses. Now we can tune in directly to the tech wizardry of the Long Island marketeer himself! Just as exciting, in my humble-humble-mumble-mumble, is the emergence of Loren Feldman (previously thought by many to be a satirist and social commentator) in the land of tech flogging and vlogging. Hey Scoble’s gone. Somebody has to do it! Watch here for his insightful comments on some new Mac Sushi database thingy, and then watch here for his corrections. Exciting stuff!
Okay. I have my tongue in cheek about Rubel. “Tech blogger,” my ass. But I think 1938 Media is really on to something. Keep up the good work Mr. Feldman.
[tags]how can we miss him if he won’t go away, say bye-bye to mr production values, say hello to the new kidz in town, lazy cows, bento boxing, apple sushi, Loren Feldman, Steve Rubel, Robert Scoble, bang, bang, interrobang[/tags]
7 Comments
You forgot Poland.
Or is it did I mean is it time to dust off Radio Free Blogistan and resume broadcasting into occupied mindspace?
I’m not sure, but I don’t think the march into Poland is scheduled until 1939. We can check with 1938Media, see what they know.
Maybe it is time to dust off the RFB xmitters and start beep-beep-a-deeping to occupied mindspace and all the chips at sea.
Scoble is recovering
http://www.ravinglunacy.org//2008/01/07/robert-scoble-internet-crash-test-dummy/
Rubel is doing his annual re-invention.
Last year he gave up LinkedIN
http://www.micropersuasion.com/2007/01/how_to_break_li.html
Year before, he was a trendnoid
http://www.micropersuasion.com/2005/12/2006_trends_to__2.html
Maybe next year, he will find his pencil has no lead….
Oh, lawdy, don’t tell me you’re actually rooting for this idiot, Frank. Please don’t tell me you think this guy is clever.
Droll attention-seeking bloviators of the Dvorak/Scoble/Rubel kind at least know where to draw the line.
Yup, I think he’s clever and insightful, Charles. he often cracks me up. I also think he goes way over the line from time to time. Have to trust myself to be able to filter that. Seriously, his black tech blogger thing way back when was embarrassing and unfunny. I don’t intend to hold it against him forever.
I embrace about half of what I see over there at 1938Media, which is way more than the hit rate that Scoble gets from me. Or Rubel. Dvorak is his own animal. Usually when I read him it’s because someone else pointed to him saying he has written something particularly egregious. Often I don’t find those things so egregious.
I think Feldman is self-aware and intentional, so his work is layered with that intentionality, and often good. I sense that same thing about Dvorak. Rubel and Scoble are simple self-aggrandizement engines, tedious and boring at their best.
Clever, sure. Insightful, well, to each his own I guess. Anyway, you’re a better man than I, Franko. I tend to invest in those I like/respect. If a guy goes too far over the line for me, I’ll always view the rest of the stuff half-heartedly, always prepared for the next blitzkrieg on my sensibilities (which, if the person is at core an asshole, is sure to come at some point). And then I can’t really enjoy it, so why bother.
Surely things haven’t gotten so bad in the tech universe that we’re left with Feldman to carry the banner for clever insight? That’s really a cryin shame if that’s the case. That might be a sign of a tech bubble about to pop if i ever saw one.
That “Tech Nigga” incident was only 6mths ago and the apology too bullshit for me to even attempt compartmentalizing. YMMV. That’s a pattern with the guy, insult then “apologize.” You’re right that he’s def self-aware and intentional.
p.s. looking for good insight, Andreessen works for me.
p.s.
In full agreement.
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[...] Frank mourns the loss of Scoble as a tech blogger, but not to worry. As Frank notes, Steve Rubel, who apparently will appoint himself anything, is Our Tech Blogger Now. No longer will people seeking dry details about bits and bytes, speeds and feeds, chip-sets and semiconductor properties of rare earth elements need to consult with a boring old engineer who probably has adhesive tape mending the bow on his coke bottle glasses. [...]