I've been too much of a gentleman to say anything. But Natali Del Conte's website hasn't been doing the CNET editor and TV personality justice. It was such a relief to get an email from her admitting it was "ugly" and announcing a contest to give her website a facelift. Do you have what it takes to give Natali a makeover? The winner gets $100 and "mad props." The guidelines:
CNET, under pressure from activist investors trying to win board seats, has posted strong numbers, with revenues of $125.5 million, up 11 percent in the fourth quarter compared to last year. This quarter's revenues are expected to rise 2 to 7 percent. We think that's unduly pessimistic: Natali Del Conte's show just launched. [PaidContent]
The last time I got loaded with Natali Del Conte, it was at Moose's in San Francisco, and alcohol was involved. So I had to ask: For her new online-video show for CNET, Loaded, will the videoblogger drink on camera, as Kevin Rose does on Diggnation? "I'm not ruling it out," says Del Conte. Good! Because her debut episode, while slickly produced, had way too many screenshots. I watch Web pages get loaded all day long as it is.
While the rest of the shutterbugs are off slacking, Duncan Riley commits an act of journalism and quick-posts photos from Friday night's Crunchies party. Too bad I'm in half of them. Helpful hint, Duncan: Most readers prefer photos of pretty girls. If you hit Page Down a few times you'll get to soon-to-be-all-over-national-TV CNET reporter Natali Del Conte flashing that Britneyesque — and I mean that in the best possible way — smile of hers just before leaving for New York City. Lots and lots more photos at Helluvajob. That's Lane Hartwell's camera in the left of this shot, and I saw Brian Solis snapping away, too, so there'll be more pix over the weekend.
There's been an incredible turnout here at Moose's to send off Natali Del Conte, the LCD-screen talent CNET plucked away from PodShow to be its newest TV star. Sarah Lacy, the BusinessWeek columnist, is here with a copy of her new Web 2.0 histoire, Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good, an advance reader copy of which I exclusively rubbed up against my chest. For a prolonged time. I can't tell you what's in it, but the book felt good, people. Paul Boutin is handing out sunglasses, and Patricia Handschiegel of StyleDiary is dishing out fashion advice. Next up: We're sending Del Conte and Lacy off to the Crunchies in a limo, because that's how Valleywag rolls.
So far at Natali Del Conte's going-away party: A VC (Stewart Alsop of Alsop Louie, pictured with Del Conte), two CEOs, a French startup guy, a stealth founder, a stats geek, a videoblogger, and some friends of Natali (who just happen to be really hot.) Brian Solis of Bub.blico.us is taking my picture as I type this. And Rafe Needleman of CNET just walked in. Come on over to Moose's and join the crowd.
Steve Jobs ate our week. Pup reporter Jordan Golson (pictured) flew out from Boston, crashed on our couches, and banged out a series of hit posts around the pointlessly-but-prettily thin MacBook Air. Some cruel CNET editor set a curfew on our going-away party for video vixen Natali Del Conte by ordering her to cover the Crunchies awards tonight. Fearless forecast: Once the awards finish at 9, there'll be more afterparties than we can hit — no, that's not true. We're pros. We'll hit 'em all for you. (Photo by brykmantra)
NATALI DEL CONTE — I'm busy getting ramped up here at CNET TV but over the break, Owen and Paul asked me to post about what it's been like to be a woman in Silicon Valley. So here's my take. I don't dare speak for all women, but I can speak for myself. And don't worry, I wouldn't dare say anything as banal as "men don't take me seriously because I'm pretty." I can't imagine a more boring sentiment. I will say this though: Since transitioning from print to video, I do receive just as many viewer emails about my hair, makeup, and clothes as I do about tech news:
CNET video star Natali Del Conte and StyleDiary fashionista Patricia Handschiegel will be at Valleywag Friday at Moose's after work today. It's Natali's send-off to her new TV gig in New York City. Patricia is up from Los Angeles. Drinking starts at 4 p.m. and runs through at least 9 at Moose's in North Beach (don't try this at home — we're journalists.) The Valleywag limo will whisk Natali away to cover the Crunchies awards at 7 sharp, after which drinking and crying escalates in earnest.
This week's Valleywag Friday at Moose's in North Beach doubles as a going-away party for CNET's new TV star Natali Del Conte. She moves to New York next week. Be sure to dress rock-star, because StyleDiary.net entrepreneuse Patricia Handschiegel will roll in from Los Angeles with her posse. Natali has to leave at 7 p.m. sharp, so don't be late. Drinking and crying will carry on until closing time. Gossip and handbag advice for all!
TeXtra videoblogger Natali Del Conte leaves San Francisco for New York City next week. She'll become a regular TV face for CNET, appearing on mainstream TV as a tech expert not afraid to say Amazon's Kindle looks like a 1980's PC. Valleywag's weekly happy hour at Moose's — it's been a hit since we started in December — will double as Natali's going-away party next Friday the 18th. Drinking and crying starts at 4 pm and carries on until the place closes. Dress code is "rockstar," whatever that means to you.
Senior editor! Natali Del Conte's first posts from CES lack the excitement of the show floor, but they do have, well, Natali. Here's another, and another. Suggestion to NDC: Get out in the crowd and give your viewers a you-are-there feeling. Is Calacanis there? Ask him one question — doesn't matter what — and let the camera roll.
Becky Worley, shown here on ABC's GMA, will replace the supercali-telegenic, expialidocious Natali Del Conte as host of PodShow's near-daily TeXtra program. "Blondes are not traditionally asked to explain the use of nano-photolithography in computer processors," writes Worley, whose video resume includes stints at the Travel Channel, ZDTV and Yahoo Tech. Becky, for what it's worth, I'm a balding middle-aged brunette male and no one asks me to explain nano-photolithography, either.
I finally got the story behind Bono's alleged appearance at the Demo tradeshow last year. MindTouch cofounder Aaron Fulkerson recruited the singer from a U2 tribute band — Pavel Sfera from San Diego-area Desire — to walk around the show floor and do his shtick for laughs. Sfera, shown here with telejourno Natali Del Conte, turned out even better than the real thing: He ad-libbed monologues about Mother Teresa, Desmond Tutu and Jesus all over the place. Because of the real Bono's role at Elevation Partners, and oh just maybe an oversized sense of their own importance, Demo attendees believed what they wanted to believe: Saint Paul of Clontarf had come by their show to check out their startup! Fulkerson had to hustle Sfera out of the show after founders began excitedly pitching him. "I've got a cure for hunger," one gushed. It involved Web page markup technology. (Photo by Brian Solis, I think)
Users of LiveJournal call it "defriending." As terrible as it sounds, defriending's not really that bad; it just means you're bored with someone and don't want to hear about their issues anymore. Or share yours with them. That, in essence, is what Six Apart, the San Francisco-based blog-software company, has decided to do with LiveJournal, the online community it acquired from Brad Fitzpatrick in 2005. Andrew Anker, Six Apart's vice president of chopping the company into little bits for convenient and lucrative disposition corporate development, orchestrated the sale of LiveJournal to Sup, a Russian media company which already runs a localized version of the site. With the sale, Anker and the rest of Six Apart's team are letting LiveJournal know, as gently as they can, that they're just not interested in its problems.
