Just days after news broke that Scoble is leaving Microsoft for PodTech.net, Om Malik confirmed that he is leaving Business 2.0 to start his own business.
So why leave? Two reasons!
Vincent, in response to a post on the site, had said, “Remember what they say folks: those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.?? I have written about start-ups for so long, and have always wanted to see if I had the chops to build something from scratch. With well wishes and support of my community, I hope I can.
The other reason is the fundamental change in the media consumption patterns. In the past, I worked for Forbes.com, arguably one of the more successful media properties on the web, and learnt some vital lessons about online media. From the mid-1990s to today, we have seen some stellar brands emerge such as News.com. They are living proof that large online media properties are a viable business.
Malik is going to do some work with micro-publishers as well as “some other ideas including developing web services that enhance the experience of my reader community”. I am looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. I enjoy listening to his podcast with Niall Kennedy. I think he is going to make an even bigger contribution to the blogosphere and whatever the Next Big Thing is going to be.
Valleywag scooped the story and published an internal Business 2.0 memo to staff advising them of Malik’s decision to leave. I love the memo. These guys have such a sense of humour:
From: <[josh quittner]>
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2006 14:44:34 -0400
To: The Staff
Conversation: Om, Sweet Om
Subject: Om, Sweet Om
To: The staff
As many of you already know, Om Malik, after three years of writing about startups, Web 2.0, the GoogleNet and everything else, has decided to eat his own dog food. He’s accepted seed funding to turn his mega-popular blog, gigaom.com, into a real business.
When Om told me about his plan to start a company, I reacted predictably: I burst into tears, fell to the floor, clutched his ankles, and begged him not to go. This had nothing to do with Om having introduced me to the superior grilled lamb chops at Pakwan. I really like the dude.
Luckily, I was able to make him an offer he couldn’t refuse: Om will be staying on as a contributing editor, writing a monthly column for Business 2.0 that will start in September.
Watch this space for details of an upcoming pour celebrating Om’s, and our, good fortune.
JQ
GigaOM [Om’s official site]
For more views on Malik’s career shift, take a look here.
(via Niall Kennedy)
Technorati Tags: gigaom, om malik, business 2.0, robert scoble, scoble
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