Rocketboom's Very Public Breakup Highlights the Difference Between Old and New Media

The beauty of social media shines through as the blogging community unites around fired Rocketboom star Amanda Congdon. Instead of being cloaked in secrecy like old media, this one's being played out publicly with thousands of bloggers worldwide offering advice and support for Congdon.

One comment suggested that Congdon auction her services on eBay, but I doubt that she's looking for the highest bidder. I think she's looking for the most creative freedom and the broadest reach.

Jason Calacanis wrote an open letter on his blog offering her a job at Netscape,

"... my offer to you is do your daily report for Netscape and we'll pay you whatever you need to get paid AND you can own all of the rights to your video forever (just give us like a six month exclusive window on Netscape). We will set you up with our kick-ass studios, get you an office, and I've got a full-time video editor at your disposal (i.e. they can go with you anywhere). Also, we'll set up a travel budget so you can go cover whatever stories you want.

You're a star baby... it's time to be treated like one."

There are nearly 10,000 blog posts listed in Technorati, with 99 and 44/100ths percent favorable to Congdon. Congdon's partner, Andrew Baron, chose to make disparaging remarks in public, which earned him no points.

The issue made the front page of the business section of today's Washington Post business section, which noted:

"She was no Tom Brokaw, and that was always the point of Rocketboom.com."

"It's a sharp reversal for Rocketboom. And it's bound to raise questions about the viability of video blogging as a sustainable business."

You know you hit the big-time when there's a satire about you less than 24 hours later by videoblog Rabbit Bite's Chou Chou and Buns