A big part of my job is blogging…really- it is. I get paid to do research, write policies, train people, come up with new ideas and beat down bad guys via the blogosphere. Of course it helps I am teamed up with one real crackerjack of a blogger and my compensation is nothing to sneeze at.

Does it work for my company? You bet it does- Our blogs generate significant press, street credability, traffic, leads, mega buzz and they provide incredible intelligence loops and press relationships. It’s all about buzz and fandom folks. In the future I predict having solid blogging ability and a real track record will pay big dividends for those who can master the many-faceted skill.

Maybe Microsoft didn’t get it, they obviously didn’t pay enough, maybe they just pissed Scobe off one too many times. (Yes I am a MSFT MVP, but rest assured I still lay into them when they deserve it.) Found this first at Chris Pirillo’s…and I agree with Chris- this is front page news. Also found a good article covering the exit.

Some Extracts from the SiliconValleyWatcher on Rober Scoble’s exodus.

Mr Scoble has expressed frustration working at Microsoft and he has also been unhappy with his compensation. He has created a tremendous amount of positive publicity for Microsoft but there have been many within the organisation that have resented his very public position. The company has not been able to control his views or his travels to various conferences and blogger meetings.

Mr Scoble might not be as interesting to some readers now that he is not at Microsoft but he is certain to retain his rock-star status within the blogging community. Podcast.net recently raised $5m in venture capital and this is coup for the company. For the price of a salary and stock options, Podcast.net has a high profile evangelist that can create a tremendous amount of buzz for the company.

It is interesting that Microsoft did not move heaven and hell to keep him at the company given the many millions of dollars of positive publicity that the company has reaped from his efforts. He put a human face on the company during a time when many in the tech community were still upset with the company for its illegal business activities in regard to Netscape.

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