Amanda Congdon, former host of online news show Rocketboom, is no longer making deals with the likes of ABC and HBO but is now fronting a little-known Web show. That was once her recipe for success.
(Credit: CNET Networks)The Internet is still seeking its first true crossover artist. Amanda Congdon's attempt at turning Web stardom into the mainstream kind has floundered, at least to this point.
The former host of Rocketboom, a once popular quirky online news show, has cut deals with ABC and HBO that amounted to little, and now the 26-year-old is attempting a comeback in the style of video blogging that made her famous.
Working with Media Rights Capital, an independent production company, Congdon will host a new Internet-based show called Sometimes Daily. The show is going to be "an interactive variety show" Congdon told The New York Times, adding that the show "will be embedded into my life."
Congdon needs to show that her success on Rocketboom, which she helped run with former partner Andrew Baron, wasn't a fluke. Her deals with old-media outlets ABC and HBO didn't lift her career much. It didn't help that while she was at ABC she was doing infomercials on the side, a controversial fact that touched off charges of conflict of interest.
As she makes a second pass at the Internet, Congdon might find the competition tougher.
Two years ago, the winsome blond with the quick wit stood out among the hosts of upstart online video shows. Now, is there any online news program without a comely, wise-cracking young anchorwoman?
"Bree" is no more.
In the "season finale" of the Web series "Lonelygirl15," which was broadcast in a well-publicized event on Friday on the MySpaceTV platform, the cute teenage protagonist met her death at the hands of a religious cult's sacrifice. A dramatic, soap-opera worthy exit indeed--especially considering that Lonelygirl15's videos were mundane enough at first to fool scores of viewers into thinking they were the real Webcam diaries of a flesh-and-blood teenager.
Lonelygirl15 was exposed as an actress last September, but the video series continued and grew increasingly elaborate. Leading lady Jessica Rose, 20, has since gone on to several movie roles and a regular spot on the ABC Family Channel sitcom Greek, but had continued to play Bree in the meantime.
The video series was occasionally maligned for being cheesy and melodramatic, but at the same time, the production team's tactics--guerrilla filming style, use of multiple platforms and social-networking sites, and interaction with a highly engaged viewer community--was also hailed as an influential step in the evolution of Internet video fiction. Unfortunately for the team behind Lonelygirl15, it may be somewhat telling that most people seem to have learned about Bree's death from blog posts on Monday--it didn't exactly create an online uproar outside of the series' loyal viewer community (some of whom refer to it as "Lonelycrack" on the official Web site). But even though Bree's out, it's apparently not the end of Lonelygirl. A British spinoff, "KateModern," has already started, and there's a chance that future Lonelygirls may appear as well. The final episode, after all, alluded to more young girls being pursued by the same cult. We've e-mailed representatives from the series' small production company and will update this post if they comment.
Fake Steve Jobs unmasked, and now this? What a weekend.
UPDATE (7:34 PM PT): A correction was made to this post. Greek is on ABC Family, not the Disney Channel.
Dell confirmed Friday that it will sell a tablet PC before the end of year.
Jeff Clarke, senior vice president and general manager of Dell's business product group, made the announcement in a short video posted to the company's Direct2Dell blog.
"I'm here to end much speculation in the industry about our plans in the tablet marketplace," says a casually attired Clarke, while holding the tablet. The device will be a Latitude tablet PC designed specifically for the education, health care and corporate markets, he said.
On the video, Clarke gives a brief demo and offers a few details. It will be one of the lightest tablets on the market and will have a pen and touch-screen interface. He demonstrates how it will open like a notebook, and will have a screen that twists and shuts to become a tablet.
Intel and Motion Computing recently announced a slate-style tablet PC specifically for the health care field. It will be priced at just over $2,000.
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