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Exit Interview with Scoble

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the need-to-stay-on-the-edge dept.

capt turnpike writes "It's no secret that Windows technology evangelist Robert Scoble (of Scobelizer blogging fame) is leaving Microsoft for a startup, but Microsoft Watch's Mary Jo Foley has the first exit interview with Scoble. Topics range from what Microsoft could have done to keep him spreading the word and building out MS's Channel 9 community site, where he sees MS going and more. From the article: 'There were times when I knew I was taking risks. I didn't know what would happen when I told Steve Ballmer that his leadership on the gay rights bill wasn't good.'"

4 of 97 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Gay Rights? by jfruhlinger · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's interesting because it's the only specific case he mentions in the intervew where he actually told the MS leadership that he thought that they were wrong.

  2. From "Corporate Brown-Nosing for Dummies" comes.. by Mammy-Nun · · Score: 2, Interesting

    FTA:

    Another surprise? That every bad decision that I thought was bad had a logical explanation behind it. I didn't always agree with the decisions but there was always a decent thought process behind every decision and, most of the time, after hearing the circumstances behind a decision I usually came to the same conclusion that they did. It's not easy building software that hundreds of millions of people use.

    Someone put too much XAML in his Cool-Aid...

  3. Scoble was a good pickup for MSFT by rifftide · · Score: 5, Interesting

    He was a sort of newspaper ombudsman as well as their connection to the blogosphere. Someone who could take heat from the public without stonewalling it, who could act as a cheerleader for company products without coming across as too much of a shill. He built credibility by praising competitor's hit products early and often. Likeable enough to get lots of people inside and outside the company to talk. Interesting enough that readers came back the next day. Ambitious, but not so high and mighty that he would leave in a huff.

    They must have figured out early on that he was only going to stay with them 2-3 years, and are relieved that he didn't move on to Google. I wonder if they'll replace him with another high profile type, or opt for the safer blog-by-committee.

  4. Re:That's easy.... by bheer · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Heh. He already had a chair thrown in his honor -- photo (That's the IE team lead Dean Hachamovitch doing the honors).

    --
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