Update: Funny... someone DUGG this story.
Update2: Yes, going indie is also a great choice for Amanda. If she has the bank she could just hire a writer or two part time, as well as one or two tech people, and just rock this out on her own. Of course, Netscape has 12M uniques a month and would expose Amanda to 40-50x the number of folks she currently has--while letting her keep ownership of her videos.
Amanda,
I see it is true you've left RocketBoom.
You're a great talent, everyone knows that, and you're gonna get a ton of offers over the next couple of days. I'd like to give you some unsolicited advice and make you an offer as well. Above all else you need to own the rights to your work. Right now all of your archives on RocketBoom.com are not yours (I think you own 49% of them right). Someone else is going to make 51% of that money for all time and they own your work, so you have to go get their permission to use it. That's not right for you at this point (it was OK a year ago when, frankly, you were not a big name like you are now).
You're on the top of the talent pool on the Web and you should get compensated for what you've done. You don't have a huge window of opportunity--you need to act now and you should get paid *now*. This is what I told Peter when I recruited him from Gizmodo, Elizabeth when I tried to (and failed) recruit her from Gawker, and this is the same advice I told Scoble months ago before he left Microsoft (he says my discussion with him helped him make the jump).
When you're the talent you build brand equity, you cash in on that brand and then you take it to the next level. You are at that very moment right now.. you need to make the jump to the next level.
So, 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. Ask the other stars who work with me how I treat my talent and I think they'll all tell you that I fight and fight for my people like a rabid dog. (sort of like the Ari/E combo on Entourage, if you will).
You know where I'm at... hit me if you're interested.
best regards,
Jason
PS - At the very least you can print this offer out and use it as leverage against some other offers coming in. Frankly, you might want to consider pulling a page from your partners playbook and doing an EBAY auction for your services. Rock on!
PSS - If you are moving to LA we have a HUGE and amazing studio we're building in the heart of Beverly Hills that will just totally knock your socks off (it's in the old Dreamworks SKG building on Maple).
Advice and an Offer for Amanda Congdon
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Reader Comments
(Page 1 of 3)2. Very good advise especially owning the rights to one's work.
Posted at 3:12PM on Jul 5th 2006 by Minic Rivera
3. Check the announcement on the site:
http://www.rocketboom.com/
Andrew sez Amanda is moving to L.A. (and obv. Hollywood). Amanda sez she was kicked out. Who do we believe?
Posted at 3:14PM on Jul 5th 2006 by Conrad Quilty-Harper
4. I think this post shows the POWER of new media to the fullest.
Where else would you find a very legit and appropriate job offer on the web through a blog post. Has this ever been done in such a public forum. The concept blows my mind and excites me at the same time.
Individuals are now controlling the media. I love it. And best of luck to Amanda wherever she ends up. It's far from the last we've heard of her.
Posted at 3:16PM on Jul 5th 2006 by C.C. Chapman
5. Do you think she will accept the offer?
"we'll pay you whatever you need to get paid AND you can own all of the rights to your video forever "
Sounds like a very good deal to me
Posted at 3:18PM on Jul 5th 2006 by Denis the SQl menace
6. If Amanda doesn't want the job, I'll take it. ;)
Posted at 3:35PM on Jul 5th 2006 by Scott McNulty
7. Jason, Instead of waiting until I'm at the pinnacle of my blogging career why not make me an offer now before I explode? The timing will make it more cost-effective for AOL and will quicken my ascension. I don't need a studio, but I do need a travel budget, transcription services, and the help of a graphic artist -- I'll take care of the rest. In addition to blogging, interviews, and features we can put Time Warner to work for us in producing my various tutorials/guides along the lines of O'Reilly books.
8. I'm betting there is plenty of talent at aol. You should hold some sort of american idol-like contest for employees!
Posted at 4:30PM on Jul 5th 2006 by nick
9. This is where Jason, Mark Cuban, and a small handful of similar folk rock. Jason, you're willing to make this offer in public and mean it. I was a Weblogs, Inc., blogger for a few months (out a bit too far ahead on digital radio, so didn't get much traffic), and the Weblogs, Inc., contract was so far and away better in terms of rights and ownership than all but one or two other media contracts I have ever signed. For the most part, media companies try to own everything, forever, in every form, stripping your copyright from it if at all possible. The tradeoff is supposed to be compensation coupled with "brand" promotion (whether you're a tech journalist like me or a brand name like Amanda).
Posted at 4:36PM on Jul 5th 2006 by Glenn Fleishman
11. Amanda, take the offer (I know you're reading this)...I'd love to work with Jason...I know you would too
Posted at 5:55PM on Jul 5th 2006 by Shawn Christopher
12. Hmmm. Can you clarify something for me? Do the writers at Weblogs, Inc. own their own content, or is it owned by Weblogs?
Posted at 6:04PM on Jul 5th 2006 by M
13. everyone needs to chill. Amanda whoever isn't the next Katie Couric, or even the next Melissa Stark. I consider myself more than an avid blog reader, and until today I had never heard of this girl. Neither had several of my other blog reading friends (who are scattered in different parts of the country). Yes, this girl is probably popular among the blogging community, but let's not get too ahead of ourselves here.
Posted at 6:45PM on Jul 5th 2006 by clarkus
15. "Ask the other stars who work with me how I treat my talent and I think they'll all tell you that I fight and fight for my people like a rabid dog."
Yeah, I'll vouch for that any day. Jason's easily the best I've ever worked for, hands down.
Posted at 6:52PM on Jul 5th 2006 by Ryan Block
16. Whether Amanda takes this offer or not, she certainly deserves it. I can't wait to see where she lands. And if it's Netscape, great! :)
Posted at 7:47PM on Jul 5th 2006 by Scott Johnson
17. Amanda should start her own Vlog.TV Channel.
She doesn't need Rocketboom.
Posted at 7:55PM on Jul 5th 2006 by David
18. Sounds like a good offer. Maybe I misjudged Jason.
Posted at 8:26PM on Jul 5th 2006 by Jason Schramm
19. How can I call you a bastard if you do stuff like this?
Posted at 8:26PM on Jul 5th 2006 by King Bastard
20. Amanda Congdon is the first star to rise from the Internet and from the dot.bomb ashes. She completely blazed a trail, and she deserves every bit of success and glory and $ that will likely come her way, as she's lovely, young, ambitious and energetic. Could dance a little better, but I'm sure Hollywood'll take care of that bit of housekeeping. She's been an inspiration to a lot of folks, even aging, former MSMers like myself.
And Jason hon, if Amanda turns up her cute nose at your offer, then you head down South and party down with the gals of TrueGritz. (We've even got our own studio! But I bet yours is fine, fine and double fine.
Cheers,
Pauline Ashley-Wilkes
www.truegritz.com
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1. I hope she takes this offer...
-JLB
Posted at 2:58PM on Jul 5th 2006 by Jason L. Baptiste