Scoble: Tech Blogs “Way Too Controlled by PR Agents”

By Joe Ciarallo on July 22, 2008 3:46 PM

FastCompany.tv Managing Editor and former Microsoft evangelist Robert Scoble thinks tech blogging has lost its roots by focusing too much on, “the business side of things,” and not enough on helping, “other people discover these new things and understand how to use them best.”

Scoble also lays some blame on PR. He writes:

Tech blogging has become way too controlled by PR agents. You might not realize it, but the top blogs are contacted by PR folks dozens of times per day. This is why you’ll see 15 stories all appear on Techmeme at the same time. All with the same news. Only a few of whom slow down to ask “is this really useful.”

While Scoble readily admits that he has “played that game,” of being the first to blog about an Apple or Yahoo press release, he has come out a bit jaded.

And of course, there are always rewards to playing the game as opposed to sitting on the sidelines. Says Scoble, “If you decide not to play that game then you stop getting invited to the coolest events. It’s how the game is played and it ensures that the bloggers all turn into a bunch of news junkies who love talking about the latest Yahoo rumors.”