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September 11, 2009

Robin's thoughts: :-)... >>

Present at the Creation, Part Two

There's always been a funny connection between Snarkmarket and Current.

After all, introduction aside, my very first Snarkmarket post inaugurated the "Gore TV" category. More followed. November 2003. March 2004. ("Man, I thought I had put this behind me. But now I'm all excited about it again.") May.

But then what? How did I end up, not too many months later, here in San Francisco, working for what was then called INdTV?

off to work
Me in San Francisco, spring 2005. Current HQ in background.

On August 1, 2004, I sent an email to Joel Hyatt, INdTV's CEO. (I found his address on the web. After searching for days.) In the email, I introduced myself—a reporter/producer/blogger in St. Petersburg, Florida, with two years of experience at a non-profit journalism institute—and lobbed in an idea for how this new TV channel could use the web in an interesting way. And, more importantly, I promised (threatened?) to follow up with another idea, and another, and another. Thirty-one total. An August of ideas.

To his everlasting credit, and to my everlasting gratitude, Joel's reply did not say "never email me again, you weird kid." Rather: "OK, let's see what you've got."

Keep in mind that I had about four ideas cooked up when I sent that first message. And then my part of St. Petersburg got evacuated because of a hurricane. And then I drove cross-country, from Florida up to Michigan, then over to California, stopping at the wifi-enabled rest stops along I-80, dispatching ideas, racing to come up with more. It was a pretty crazy month.

The final idea, sent on August 31, was, perhaps, predictable: You should hire me!

And again, this is a point at which Joel could very reasonably have said "you weird kid." Instead, he invited me into the city for lunch.

At Current, I've been, successively, an interactive producer, a blogger, a channel manager, a futurist (note: bad title choice), ad sales adjunct faculty, and the vice president of strategy. I've been here for just a hair under five years.

But finally, there's just too much other cool stuff to do. Today is my last day.

Current is the company, the idea, that brought me to San Francisco, and I have a lot of people to thank for the depth and breadth of my Current experience. But none so centrally as Joel, who took a chance on a 24-year-old who sent a bunch of emails. I mean, guys: This is big. This is what makes lives happen, or not.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll have more reflections to share, but I'll leave it at that for now. Mostly, I wanted to tell the tale of that fall five years ago because it makes the step I'm about to take, in the fall of 2009, seem relatively conservative by comparison. Ha!

Here's the agenda:

First: Spend the next fifty days absolutely jamming on this book. On one level, this is just simple necessity. I sort of set a trap for myself here, didn't I? On another level, I had an epiphany the other day: There is nothing in the entire world I would rather do for the next two months than work my ass off to create something wonderful for the people on this list. Not sure I've ever had quite that level of clarity before. Gotta say: I like it.

Then: Consulting—for Current, for starters. Freelancing, in a few different domains. There's more writing in the works. And some bigger ideas, which I won't try to squeeze into this post. But I won't keep you waiting for too long, I promise. I'm going to need your help!

Update: Ha hahaha. I got a web-monitoring text message this morning saying that robinsloan.com was getting slammed with visitors, and I'm thinking to myself, "Wow, jeez, big news... I guess?" Nope, different reason. Shoulda known!

Robin-sig.gif
Posted September 11, 2009 at 1:13 | Comments (8) | Permasnark
File under: Gore TV, Media Galaxy, Self-Disclosure

March 2, 2006

Firestorm

Robin says,

Here at Current we are trying out a new embeddable video player doodad. Here's one of my favorite videos from the Current Studio:

Note the "post this on your site" button -- it gives you the embed code right inside the player! It's the first time I've seen that feature. Rod Naber (who sits in front of me) made this thing -- he is some sort of mad genius.

Comments (1) | Permasnark | Posted: 5:14 PM

February 14, 2006

Gore TV?

Matt says,

Hey Current, I think CNN International kidnapped your Web designer. I'd sue. (Kottkettish.)

Comments (3) | Permasnark | Posted: 8:12 PM

August 11, 2005

Joe Gets Podded

Matt says,

Of all the wonderful things Current TV has done for the world, I think the best will be introducing it (the world) to Joe Hanson, a.k.a. Binowhite, a.k.a. B-Whizzle. I found Joe during my hour-long binge in the recently hott Current Studio, where you can preview the pods people have submitted and vote whether they should appear on-air. It's definitely the best part of the site (excellent blog notwithstanding). Go check out my favorite VC2, Binowhite. I can't wait to see what Joe gets into next.

Comments (0) | Permasnark | Posted: 8:25 AM

July 31, 2005

It's On

Robin says,

I think this homepage is pretty sweet.

Comments (3) | Permasnark | Posted: 11:11 PM

May 4, 2004

Gore TV, For Real

Why am I so obsessed with Al Gore's cable TV channel, which is finally a reality?

I think it's because of stuff like this -- and the hope that it's not just, well, quotes for press releases:

"We are launching an exciting television network for young men and women who want to know more about their world and who enjoy real-life stories created with, by and for their own generation," said Gore who, as Chairman of the Board, will devote the lion's share of his time to the venture. "We want to empower this dynamic generation with a network dedicated to them that has integrity and a commitment to excellence. This will not be a political network," Gore emphasized, adding, "These stories will be in a voice that young people recognize and from a point of view they identify as their own."
Robin-sig.gif
Posted May 4, 2004 at 4:50 | Comments (0) | Permasnark
File under: Gore TV

April 5, 2004

Gah! I Can't Handle This!

First it's on, then it's off, then it's on again, now it's off again (maybe)!

Gore TV, why must you torment me so?

(You know you are a huge, huge dork when the ownership of a digital cable channel becomes a quasi-emotional issue.)

Robin-sig.gif
Posted April 5, 2004 at 10:47 | Comments (0) | Permasnark
File under: Gore TV

March 31, 2004

Robin's thoughts: I know. I'm totally pissed. The lesson here: eternal vigilance. When you key onto a story ... >>

It's About Time

Al Gore and his business partner Joel Hyatt have fiiinally sealed the deal on Newsworld, the NYO's Joe Hagan reports.

goretv.jpgNewsworld, a digital cable channel, is pretty boring right now. I can corroborate this description:

Currently, Newsworld is a bit like something Bill Murray would flip on in the hotel in Lost in Translation: a two-minute dialogue-free video essay on squirrels, followed by the news about a freak rotating-door accident in a Tokyo shopping mall.

The deal is that the new Newsworld -- which will get a new name -- is going to be a public affairs channel for young people. Gore likes the idea of guerilla news: an army of kids with cheap DV cams, capturing (and editing and uploading and optionally adding a hip-hop soundtrack to) their world.

Here's more:

He was also a big fan of MTV