Gawker
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the way we were
Remember when Amanda Congdon was rocketing to the top? Yeah, me neither. Videoblogging's forgotten stars.
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field guide
Shira Lazar, Kevin Rose's Latest Fling
Having famously "plowed through" San Francisco's eligible bachelorettes, Digg founder Kevin Rose went L.A. for his most recent paramour, Shira Lazar. Who is this Web-video wannabe with links to Dov Charney and Julia Allison? More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by LilyBartleby: She's an upgrade from his previous paramour, Roseys Palm. 9 Responses | Other threads
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obituary
Fred Baron, father of Rocketboom, clicks "stop"
Fred Baron, a Texas trial lawyer, died last Thursday of cancer. Fellow litigators remember him for the "toxic tort" lawsuits he filed; politicos know him as the man who relocated former presidential candidate John Edwards's mistress, Rielle Hunter, to Santa Barbara, in the hopes of keeping her away from the public eye. But the Internet-obsessed crowd will inevitably think of him as the man who inflicted chesty-news videoblog Rocketboom on them; first, by fathering videoblogger Andrew Baron, then giving his son the funding for his project. Oh, and then suing him over it. Despite that, Andrew sought to have his father given an experimental cancer treatment. Blood is thicker than blogs.
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By Owen ThomasComment by Shadowlayer: Dude if I die try to make it sound more dramatic than it was, specially if it's a tricycle accident... more » | Other threads
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leo laporte
Since when do Japanese pornographers pay tech podcasters six figures?
Video-sharing site Stickam — owned and operated by a Japanese porn company — wants to pay some guy named Leo Laporte $100,000 to stream his podcast called This Week in Tech, or TWiT, exclusively for one year. Confused? So are we. And when we did the math, our bewilderment grew. More »
4,259
Comment by maccast: I am not following the math here. Leo plans to do 25 hours a week. If he gets 750 viewers... more » | Other threads
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online video
Sarah Atwood has my vote for Mahalo Daily Idol
The clock is ticking down to Saturday's open casting call to fill the role of Mahalo Daily host. The job, formerly held by Veronica Belmont, is to serve as the pretty face for Jason Calacanis's site that's trying to cash in on top search terms. I'll go ahead and endorse Nerdtainment's Sarah Atwood. Am I just offering my recommendation because she put me in her audition video? Of course! But I do have other, less narcissistic reasons. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by Fidel on the Roof: @Peteski: She's banking on it. more » | Other threads
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robert scoble
Live nude bloggers at Fast Company
How intimate are Robert Scoble and Shel Israel? The pair wrote Naked Conversations together and now they'll both be videoblogging for Fast Company. Also, they appear to have been nude, hairy and within close proximity of each other in at least one instance. Here's hoping it was memorable. And that they'll videoblog clothed. -
forecasts
Valleywag's 25 predictions for 2008
Valleywag is of course known for its dead-on accuracy, so our predictions for 2008 need no introduction. Inside, my 25 predictions (made without inside information) cover the futures of Facebook, Google, Digg, YouTube, Twitter, the Wall Street Journal, Apple, Yahoo, Gawker Media, AOL, Dell, LOLcats, the president, and more. More » -
vloggers
Y Combinator's webcam can't touch MC Hammer
MC Hammer's rap career may have been over more than a decade ago, but to the startup kids at Y Combinator, he'll always be a superstar. First, he awkwardly pitched Weebly's MySpace profile editor SnapLayout to lifecaster Justine Ezarik, better known as iJustine of Justin.tv. Now, Hammer has made an iminlikewithyou profile. The washed-out rapper hopes to extend his attempts to revive his career beyond being a hanger-on of startups by fighting Vanilla Ice. Only problem — he needs someone with a videocamera, and he's trolling the iminlikewithyou community for volunteers. So what does that tell us about the state of Hammer's career? More »
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By Tim FaulknerComment by Whocares: Julia Allison also has an actual job of some sorts.. I'm still pondering how Justine manages to pay her bills.. more » | Other threads
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funny
Ze Frank's social networking ditty
Add another song to the geek karaoke repertoire. Ze Frank, best known for his year-long videoblog The Show, has released a cute little tune about romance in the age of social networks. "Let's start a social network built just for two," it starts off, and, from there, references networking cliches from hacker-speak to customizable profile pages. Fair warning, though: The chorus, with the repeating phrase "online all the time," has the potential to get locked in your brain all afternoon. Click to play after the jump. More »
978
Comment by Jeremy: He was funny at Forrester's Consumer Forum in Chicago. He was making fun of Pud's hyper personality on the panel. more » | Other threads
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justin.tv
He's just a camboy. So why can't I stop watching?
NICK DOUGLAS — When I first heard that young San Franciscan Justin Kan started broadcasting his life on video 24 hours a day at Justin.tv, I thought, "so what?" Like many others, I just assumed someone had already been doing this. I was half-right; camgirls and bugged homes date back to the 90s. But by strapping the camera to Justin's head, the creators kicked this show up a notch. Still, what's so compelling about a 20-something guy in San Francisco? Why are 353 people watching Justin talk to his friends right now in his living room? After watching the show, reading the buzz, and talking to Justin in person, I've got a good idea why. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by radiodaze: I'm a reporter with National Public Radio and I'm doing a story about Justin TV. I was hoping to... more » | Other threads
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vloggers
The new conference elite
The variety of stars at tech conferences used to be limited to bloggers, startup innovators, designers and programmers identifiable only after a glimpse at a name badge. But a new class of celeb is rising with more recognizable star power: videobloggers, often good-looking and engaging, practiced at being entertaining, and a prime target for conference-long entourages. Other techies love hooking up with a less nerdy brand of internet celeb. At this weekend's South by Southwest conference, star vloggers included Casey and Rudy from sci-fi show Galacticast and ABC News vlogger Amanda Congdon. The biggest star by far, though, was Ze Frank, host of the one-man "The Show," who cruised a few parties, hosted the annual Web Awards, and performed a Powerpoint stand-up routine at a Buzzfeed party. Prediction: "Fun" conferences (full of the geeks who do the actual work of Web 2.0) like SXSW will have more vlogger presence than "business" conferences like the upcoming suit-heavy Video on the Net. (photo by Scott Beale)
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By Nick DouglasComment by Spastic Colon: cv and delirious. it's been 14 years since Interactive was added. it's no longer a music conference. quit living in... more » | Other threads
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comedy
The 12 Funniest People On The Internet
NICK DOUGLAS — Some of them you recognize, some of them you don't. Here are the twelve funniest people on the Internet today, including Ze Frank, Brad Neely, Worker #3116, and that crazy lady at Violent Acres. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by daveschappell: I'm a huge fan of a new site called www.arnoldspeaks.com (and no, I'm not associaed with the site!) more » | Other threads
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technorati
Hey! Technorati's new video blog is cute today!
Leading blog search site Technorati has already come a long way from its first awkward, two-talking-heads-in-a-kitchen episodes (which we viciously reviewed here and here). Today's show ain't perfect, but unlike the old shows, it's up to date, tells us something we didn't know (That German Gizmondo game exec won't plea bargain about stealing the Enzo that he later crashed? No way!) and is very nearly not boring in its staging. And the last story in this little news show, a bit about the latest viral video, is cutely played out by host Aaron Krane. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by centernetworks: you have got to be kidding me frankly. This video is completely a waste of time, they are pushing the... more » | Other threads
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technorati
Technorati watching: Can't...tear...eyes...from...vloggers
After ripping apart Technorati's first video blog, I avoided watching for two, maybe three episodes of this attempt at a news show by staffers at the leading blog search engine. Then someone sent another clip. Damn it, here we go with: More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by academik: This reminds me of a story about the reason Christopher Walken delivers his lines in such an interesting manner... he... more » | Other threads
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lonelygirl15
Oh so Hollywood
Ah, New Media never felt more like Old Media. Here's Jessica Rose, aka YouTube videoblogger LonelyGirl15. She's not a geek like her character. She lives in Hollywood, and she wants to be in movies. (Granted, she also did this project for very little money.) After a professional acting education, Rose earned her fame with a vlog that kept thousands guessing whether she was real. Which is kind of New Media, but kind of Blair Witch redux. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by GothamCityProject: *sigh* It's like when you figure out a magic trick, it's just not as much fun. more » | Other threads
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lonelygirl15
Bloggers ID famous fake YouTuber: LonelyGirl15 is actress Jessica Rose
LonelyGirl15 has a name. The YouTube video blogger who acted in a fictional show about a homeschooled religious girl, her daily life, and her boy friend (and got on CNN in the process) was outed as a fake last week when bloggers traced messages and video blog posts back to a Beverly Hills talent agency. This weekend, the still-unnamed creators of the vlog saga posted a forum message admitting that the show was scripted. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by applextrent: The only exposé I'll be doing for a while will be on my MacBook when I need to find something... more » | Other threads
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techcrunch
How a biker-vlogger snuck into the CrunchFest
Sarah Meyers' video proved that this weekend's TechCrunch bash in Menlo Park really was a hoity-toity invite-only affair. But how exactly did this interloping vlogger get into the party, and how was she kicked out? We asked her. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by Jeremy: I guess August thinks of us as hooligans that need to be watched? I did find it funny that there... more » | Other threads
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techcrunch
The vidding crashers: August Capital boots vloggers from TechCrunch party
The lust for fame and riches drives many a Silicon Valley aspirant to pull awesinine stunts. Take, for example, the videoblog that crashed this weekend's startup-studded TechCrunch party at the offices of Menlo Park firm August Capital. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by Lorenzo: "AGF" is a larger and larger concern here in the greater silicon valley area. First step toward healing is... more » | Other threads
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yelp
Remainders: Valley of the dolls
- Now that you've seen cover boy Kevin Rose, check out the whole gallery of sexy young startuppers, including Yelp.com founders Russell and Jeremy, seen here about to sic their dog on some college co-eds. [BusinessWeek]
- Netscape names its first 10 paid users, the "Netscape Navigators." Kerchiefs and merit badges will be passed out at the clubhouse. [Calacanis.com]
- One of the top Netscape users not hired is a little bitter about the above. [Backstabbed by Netscape]
- San Fran videoblogger Josh Wolf was jailed this weekend for not handing his protest footage to the cops. More on this tomorrow. [SFist]
- Next time an Apple fanboy gets all macho in your face, show him these shirts. [IBloggedThis]
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By Nick DouglasComment by Jackson West: Violet Blue also has a writeup of Josh, and having been BoingBoinged, gets nothing but the best in reactionary vitriol... more » | Other threads
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rocketboom
Sing-along: Don't you vlog me baby
The star has gone, the glamour's worn thin, and Rocketboom's former vlog host is already fading from memory after her public fight with her producer Andrew Baron (scroll through this page for background). In celebration of Amanda Congdon's rapidly ticking 14th minute of her 15 minutes of fame, Valleywag presents "Don't You Vlog Me, Baby." More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by irinaslutsky: you actually just made me relive 6th grade singing in my bathroom to myself in the mirror. SO. that was... more » | Other threads
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rocketboom
Rocketboom's headed for a legal battle
Everyone's acting like Rocketboom's producer and ex-host have gone their separate ways, as if the fight is over. But it's just about to begin. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by Conrad: I'm not surprised Andrew thinks that this is a minor glitch - Amanda leaving could be the best thing to... more » | Other threads
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rocketboom
Who's better at Rocketboom, Amanda or Joanne?
It is unfair to pit a former host and current host of a show against one another in some kind of popularity contest, especially when the current host has nothing to do with the fight that ended with the former host's exit. More » -
amanda congdon
Holy media bubble! Amanda Congdon hits TIME Magazine, CNET, and MSNBC in one night
Sure, the former Rocketboom host is only interviewed in TIME's online version, not its print edition. But bloggers will forget that and make a big deal about this. And it is a big deal, since this was the third interview with Amanda Congdon published last night. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by openwag: enough about this fricken spat. All because he left the toilet seat up.. more » | Other threads
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amanda congdon
UnBoomed: Amanda says Andy can't be her friend
Rocketboom's former host is still telling her side of the story to the media. It's all starting to look a little mean, since her former partner Andrew Baron offered an olive branch this morning on Rocketboom. More » -
andrew baron
Rocketboom wants Amanda Congdon back
The nation's hottest video blog is back, and it's snappy. Rocketboom interim host Joanne Colan (pictured here holding a symbol for triumph) displays the polish and ease that many viewers felt long-time host Amanda Congdon lacked. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by pobrien: I couldn't disagree more, where Amanda was tongue in cheek, she at least came across as genuine, interested, and having... more » | Other threads
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amanda congdon
Reader poll: Did Amanda Congdon's boobs make her famous?
It's been official policy at Valleywag to allude to Amanda Congdon's breasts without blaming them for her stardom. But every other blogger and reporter says that they're the reason Andrew Baron chose her to host his video blog, Rocketboom. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by GreenLeaves: That is just plain sad: according to the results of this vote, 82% of Valleywag's readership are either male or... more » | Other threads
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andrew baron
Rocketboom still a dud, bloggers running out of headline puns
Rocketboom, the world's most popular video blog, enters its third post-Amanda-Congdon day with no new episode, despite producer Andy Baron promising one at 9 AM Eastern Time. Well, look at the clock. I'll keep asking until I get an answer: Andy, since you do all the work on the show, switching anchors should be no big deal, right? More » -
rocketboom
Rocketboom dies without Amanda Congdon
Rocketboom, the hottest video blog since Dick Clark's "New Year's Eve on the Internets," cannot survive without ex-host Amanda Congdon. I didn't believe it until I saw the above error message at Rocketboom.com. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by Nick Douglas: Gone to waste? It made Amanda a star! Now she just needs some acting classes and she'll be all over... more » | Other threads
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lloyd braun
Lloyd Braun gets his TV show
Let's bring TV to Yahoo" might not get laid off after all. Yahoo Media Group head Lloyd Braun must be cheering over the new Pepsi-branded show hosted by Yahoo, "The 9." This daily show features a pretty woman discussing popular news items from around the Internet. (This, of course, has never been done.) More » -
andrew baron
UnBoomed: Rocketboom breaks, and it's all Andy's fault
Escalating his battle with exiting host Amanda Congdon, Rocketboom producer Andy Baron blogged that he does nearly all the work on the popular video blog. "I have Produced every single episode," he says. "I have found/picked over 90% of all of the stories that we have ever used." He even takes credit for Amanda's frantic chair spins and head bobs that freaked out so many viewers. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by Jackson West: As any blog impresario will tell you, putting pasty, chubby white guys in front of cameras does not an internet... more » | Other threads
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andrew baron
UnBoomed: The Andy-Amanda video wars
After Rocketboom host Amanda Congdon took her spat with producer Andrew Baron public on her blog, Andrew never posted a reply on his blog. Instead, he talked about it at a conference. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by Blackjack: Yeesh, Andy's got a voice like a whistle. I don't get the whole "we're a small company, we can't move across... more » | Other threads
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amanda congdon
UnBoomed scoop: Amanda Congdon will work for 88slide people
Update: Damn, I was dead wrong, says Amanda. 88SLIDE wants her, but she hadn't responded to any offers as of Tuesday. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by Nick Douglas: Noah declines to comment -- so, yeah, it's true. more » | Other threads
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rocketboom
UnBoomed: Rocketboom hires host from MTV
It only took Rocketboom producer Andrew Baron a week to replace host Amanda Congdon. And, as Amanda accused, he's so old media — new anchor Joanna Colan is an ex-MTV Europe VJ. Huffington Post's media blog, Eat the Press, reports the story but admits that Andy won't confirm the hire. He does confirm that Rocketboom goes back on the air Monday. More » -
rocketboom
UnBoomed: Amanda calls Andrew "old media"
The New York Times gets new quotes from Amanda Congdon after the Rocketboom vlog anchor split with founding producer Andrew Baron over escalating arguments about the show's direction. Now that Rocketboom is rich and famous, Andrew wanted his power back and tried to muscle Amanda out of her 49% share of the show — which is, like, so last decade. More » -
rocketboom
UnBoomed: OfficePirates save Rocketboom
If you were creeped out by Rocketboom for the last couple years (now called "the well-endowed age"), you might enjoy this video from OfficePirates.com half as much as I did. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by Blackjack: Meanwhile, Amanda's off to Hollywood with her I Heart Dubya t-shirts. Those will go over well in La La Land;... more » | Other threads
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rocketboom
UnBoomed: New Media split finally covered by Old Media
Two major news outlets run full stories on the Congdon-Baron split at Rocketboom today, demonstrating that this story is more than blogger gossip. More »
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Fri Jul 10
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