Trouble in podcastland? Robert Scoble, the former Microsoft evangelist who became a star in his own tiny world of tech bloggers, is looking to leave Podtech. However small Scoble's audience, its his dorky tech news show that draws in the stodgy big-tech advertisers upon which cash-strapped Podtech depends. Which makes this rumor particularly ominous for the once-hot company: an informant hears that Scoble, who has hefty mortgage payments on his big new house in Half Moon Bay, has pursued at least three exit options: at Google, a venture firm, and Facebook.

The first — a position at Google under Vic Gundotra, a former colleague of Scoble at Microsoft — fell through because the power blogger didn't meet the search engine's strict employment criteria. The self-styled "alpha geek" never actually completed his degree. (An interrupted Stanford PhD is no obstacle to Google employment, but Scoble's college was San Jose State, where he majored in journalism.)

The second hope, a role at US Venture Partners, one of the investors that pumped $5.5m into Podtech last year, came to nothing because the venture firm is switching its focus on healthcare. Or at least that's what they told Scoble.

And the third, a job at white-hot Facebook, was scotched by Scoble's wife, Maryam, who didn't want hubby to abandon Podtech while she was pregnant. Maryam also works at Podtech, and would have had to face the temper of John Furrier, Podtech's boss, alone.

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