Scoble skedaddles from Microsoft

Robert Scoble may not be that well-known offline, but he's world-famous in the world of bloggers.

So when news broke that Scoble, a blogger who worked for Microsoft, was leaving the corporate giant for a podcasting start-up, the blogger world went crazy. The story topped lists of blogger news all weekend, beating out World Cup stories, according to one report.

Scoble was, for many, the public face of Microsoft, through his own blog and through interviews with employees he did for Microsoft blog Channel 9. He also wrote a book on blogging and corporations.

He will become vice president of PodTech.net, based in Menlo Park, Calif. Most agreed the move would be good for the start-up, bringing in a big name and big publicity. But the big question was: Is it good for Microsoft?

Blog community response:

"This is a terrible blow to Microsoft, because Scoble has done more to soften their image with the tech community than any amount of money could've bought, and along the way, he's written the book about corporate PR in the digital age."
--Terry Heaton's Weblog

"Seriously folks, Robert's a good guy and has done a lot of good for Microsoft but this isn't that big a deal. Robert doesn't write code, ship product, create marketing campaigns or sell software. That's why this doesn't mean a lot nor will it likely have any impact."
--Michael Gartneberg

"I think Scoble is a pretty unique character, and it was partly his ebullience and personal approach - not just his Microsoft access - that won him fans. That will make it harder for Micosoft to replace him, and it should make it easier for him to move his brand and followers somewhere else."
--the LOOSE wire blog