Scoble Exits Microsoft

Robert Scoble, the corporate blogger who put a human face on Microsoft, has left the company for a role with podcasting start-up PodTech.Network.

Scoble’s career at Microsoft became perhaps the textbook example of word of mouth and buzz marketing in a corporate technology environment. His title was “evangelist” and he worked in product development, where he had access to many of the company’s pre-launch products and would often hint tantalizingly about them on his Weblog.

Scoble led the development of Channel 9, a community and blogging site built around Microsoft’s developers that garners over three million unique users per month.

Part of what made Scoble’s blogging on behalf of Microsoft so powerful for the company was its blending of personal with tech-oriented commentary. In recent months, he occasionally wrote about experiencing burnout, and two weeks ago he described dealing with the death of his mother.

In addition to his work on Channel 9 and the Scobleizer blog, Scoble authored the book “Naked Conversations: How Blogs Are Changing the Way Businesses Talk With Customers.”

At PodTech, a media company focused on podcasting, Scoble’s title will be VP of media development. The blog-generated traffic around his hire brought down the company’s Web site for a period of about an hour this morning.

“Robert Scoble is a global brand and we are thrilled to have him as a member of the PodTech team,” said John Furrier, founder and CEO. “He is a pioneer in blogging and social media. His knowledge of new media, the tech industry, and his success as a blogger fits perfectly with PodTech’s vision and mission.”