It's nothing personal

Those who have been following the cycle of news following the latest of many delays of Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista OS would certainly know how the Scobleizer got irated first at the news and then called for the "firing" of the reporter who wrote a story on how 60% of Vista's source code is going to be rewritten. Robert went ballistic on his commentors repeatedly asking people "unless you prove who you are, I wont answer/respect your questions and comments".

I see that since he has calmed down and basically have apologized for his (online) behavior. It made me think about (a) how do you establish one's credibility/credentials online? (b) just because someone does not have a blog or an online trail of sorts, can you dismiss all of what they have to say/ask? My answer is no to the latter.

Having said that, I am not sure I agree with Nick. While Robert Scoble is not representing Microsoft in his blog (which would be pretty surprising news for many), he is their most vocal voice online and is kinda doing their Corporate PR Blogging work (either for free or pay), whether he likes it or not. But having a conversation is better than none at all. And I applaud Robert for doing that.

I guess it all comes down to being an A-List Blogger. You know what happens to A-List Celebrities in Hollywood, dont you?