The Congdon Affair

Some personal media brands build slowly and steadily, both in terms of audience and ad revenue, and eventually, after years of toil, wake up to find they’re legitimate businesses. Others rise rapidly and then, owing to money or interpersonal tensions, explode gloriously in shards of broken glass. Such is the case with Rocketboom, whose anchorwoman and production head have parted ways in a mutual huff.

The very public falling out has gotten attention in the blogosphere disproportionate to its significance in the digital media landscape — at least in terms of traffic and audience. But all the chatter is not totally without merit. I’ve never been a huge fan of Amanda Congdon, the site’s public face, but she’s clearly notable for being the first video blog star in history.

The split seems to have been precipitated by Congdon’s desire to move to L.A. and find sidework. This fact, combined with the fact she’s now living with her parents while looking for a new gig, give us the only possible salient insight for ClickZ’s audience: Video blogging, evidently, still can’t bring down the ad revenue.