Robert Scoble has announced that he is leaving his role as the head of online video for Fast Company.
Scoble started the job in January 2008 after a long stint at the now defunct podcasting company Podtech. His role at Fast Company included running FastCompany.tv, the video portion of the site, and hosting his own show. According to a report at The Next Web, Scoble’s hand was forced after his prime sponsor Seagate pulled the plug. Other reports put that sponsorship at $1 million a year.
Scoble and I haven’t always been the best of friends over the years, but more recently I’ve come to appreciate him as one of the few people in this space who isn’t afraid to go deep on a story. Yes, some of his video interviews are dry, but this depth of reporting has more often than not resulted in information and news that would have never been obtained any other way. Scoble offers a real service to the tech community, and I hope that his next step is to go independent, giving him the ability to really leverage his influence and skills to provide news that is far beyond what we get from the mainstream media.
I can’t contribute much to a Scoble fund, but where I can let me be on the record that I’m in. Scoble’s only response on FriendFeed so far:
Duncan: I learned a lot this past year. Turns out even if you work for a big(ger) company you really are an entrepreneur anyway. I’m thinking a lot about this and the role of new work in the future. On the other hand, some things require teams and capital and infrastructure. Those will be tough to get access to this year if you’re starting from scratch.
Still, surely someone out there with money might fund him well. Ceiling cat speed to you, Robert Scoble.
