Comments on: Rocketbust

By: Matt Savarino

Matt Savarino — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Andrew just updated the RB home page…

RB Announcement:
Amanda Congdon has decided to move to L.A. to pursue opportunities that have arisen for her in Hollywood.
We wanted to meet her request to move production out to L.A., however, we are a small company and have not been able to figure out a way to make it work, financially and in many other ways at this time. So sadly we bid Amanda adieu and wish her all the best.
Rocketboom goes on.
Andrew Baron, the founder and creator of Rocketboom, will stay with the company in New York and will continue to produce and direct the show. We are in the daunting process of recruiting a replacement for Amanda.
While Amanda will be sorely missed, we have big plans for Rocketboom and are determined to make the show better than ever.
After Field Week and a week on hiatus, we know that you are hungry for the news! Rocketboom will be back with a news episode and an interim host this MONDAY, JULY 10.

By: Mike D.

Mike D. — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Interesting. Sounds very “he said, she said” so far. Amanda’s video clearly made it sound like she got pushed out of the company while the statement from Andrew above makes it sound more like she was given the opportunity to continue with the status quo and she rejected it. What really happened has major implications on the equity situation so I can’t wait to hear the unbiased story.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

There’s a thread in the Yahoo! Groups about this somewhere, from earlier today, where Andrew states that he first heard about Amanda leaving by seeing her video announcement.

Don’t know if I buy that… but you’re right… there’s a TON of ‘he said, she said’ surrounding this whole deal.

The funny thing? I find myself caring more about the controversial breakup than I ever did about the show itself.

By: Matt Savarino

Matt Savarino — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Here is the link to the Yahoo Videoblogging Group.

By: Emma

Emma — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’m not sure why anybody is supposed to care about this?

By: Mike D.

Mike D. — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Emma: I don’t even really care about the show, but the fact remains that it is probably the most popular video podcast in the world. For this reason, it’s big news when the host leaves, and in my opinion, bigger news when we find out how the whole thing shakes out. There’s a big movement towards individuals-as-franchises these days, and Amanda’s drawing-power may set a new standard for this if she opts to, in a sense, “go solo”.

By: Chris Griffin

Chris Griffin — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I thought I was pretty adept and knowledgable in the blog world but I’ve got to honestly say, until today, I’ve never heard of Rocketboom until it was splattered all over Techcrunch and a few other blogs. Just goes to show how big the blogosphere is.

So it goes without saying, I really don’t care :)

By: Olav

Olav — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I agree, Mike, this is big news, especially now as the videocasting scene seems to be growing fast. But as you say, Rocketboom may be bust now that its, ehm, bust has been boomed.

By: Pete Cashmore

Pete Cashmore — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Hey Sports Racer,

I second your vote for Ze Frank. He thinks so I don’t have to.

By: TheBizofKnowledge

TheBizofKnowledge — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’m right there with you, Chris. I always thought I had a good feel for what’s going on in the blogosphere, but this is also my first time hearing about Rocketboom. I saw a post on Scoble’s blog, then saw this one. Looks like I’ll be spending some time with Rocketbook archives today!

By: Stephan

Stephan — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I tried to watch the show a few times but found it just a little to bland for me. The writing was just a little off your something. Ze Frank definitely has the ability to keep the audience captivated and give them some useful information. I’m a moderate and I still like the show.

By: Reed Morse

Reed Morse — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Oh Mike, don’t be silly. You don’t care about the business deals, you care about the chicks!!

By: Eric Meyer

Eric Meyer — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Yeah, I’d heard of Rocketboom before but never checked it out. Or maybe I’d come across references to Amanda C. in the comments on The Show and never checked her out. Either way, I’d never seen Rocketboom before, but with all the flutter about her departure, I went to see what exactly I’d been missing. I ended up watching episode #400.

It’s entirely possible that the next four days will represent the high point of Rocketboom’s creative output.

By: Matt Savarino

Matt Savarino — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Amanda has another post for the record.

By: Jack

Jack — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Ze Frank has pointed to Rocketboom a few times and when I clicked through I found the content lacking and the delivery sorta… kooky in an uncomfortable way.

But you’re right about Amanda’s hotness. With her looks and her upbeat and youthful personality, she could be making much bigger waves in the video-blogging world if she wanted to stick around and do start/join another venture.