Where's my stone tablet?

I have been sitting here on the sidelines watching the show for a few weeks.  How many electrons were used consuming the news about Robert Scoble announcing he is leaving Microsoft then “Correcting the Record about Microsoft”?  Lots and Lots.  Lots squared.  Lots to the 100th power.  Why?

Then came the interesting post from Philip Su about Windows Vista titled the “Broken Windows Theory”.  As you might suspect, this generated a considerable amount of buzz as well.  Why?

Then of course came the big story.  Bill Gates announced a transition he is planning and “A New Era of Technical Leadership at Microsoft” was communicated internally and externally.  I was glad to be able to see Bill announce this live on our intranet.  It made me sad, but I am also very proud of the man for how he is using his money to help save the planet.  We certainly need some saving.

So which story was the biggest?  

There has been a lot of traffic inside and outside Microsoft on the impact of blogging and the blinding rate that the internet consumes news. Frank Shaw blogs about it.  Steve Rubel blogs about it.  And of course Jeff Jarvis blogs about it.

Are blogs really changing anything?  Is there really anything new here? 

Many of the blog leadership talk about how the internet can crater your reputation in a picosecond.  That would suck.  There are many cited examples.  Hugh MacLeod at Gapingvoid.com refers to “The Kryptonite Factor” when talking about this phenom.  I’m not sure who first reported the problem, but you can read about it at Engadget.

It’s about the story.  What fascinates people?  There are lots of categories of information that grab the attention and put a vice grip on you. 

Much of the discussion I’ve seen centers on how information flows, whether the information is factual, confidentiality of the information and of course the impact.  Disruption comes to mind.

The network is the key enabler.  I would say the internet, but that wouldn’t give the proper amount of credit to gossip and personal verbal communications, relationships, personal networking, etc.  Never underestimate the grapevine.

Not to knock Robert Scoble at all, but what will happen to his blog readership after he leaves Microsoft on June 30?  Will what he has to say still matter?  If it does, it certainly proves you have to work at networking, relationships, and blogging.

Respect isn’t given, it’s earned.