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Robert Scoble
Robert Scoble
Really tough day. One of the toughest of my life. Fast Company TV is being restructured and had to lay off my friend @rocmanusa
February 6, 2009 from Twitter - Comment - Share
Well, this day turned out a lot worse than I expected it to be. Sigh. - Robert Scoble
Damn. That sucks. :( - Jason Shultz from twhirl
Well crap... that is not fun. Hang in there Robert (sending rocmanusa a tweet now) - Brian Roy
I hate that you had to let him go, Robert. I'm sure with your massive following you'll be able to get him hooked up with something else fast. - David Wilson
Sorry to hear that, Robert. It always hurts when it hits close to home... - FFing Enigma
That truly sucks. Sadly, there are a lot of other folks out there right now going through a similar experience. - The original Kevin
maybe you can spread the word on his skills and help hook him up with a new job? surely someone is out there who is looking for someone with his skills? - Jason Shultz from twhirl
Sorry to hear :( - Tyson Key
Sucks but think big picture. If "this" is one of the toughest days of your life you have led a very very charmed life and should be counting yourself one of the luckiest peeps alive. Walla, now you have the attitude adjustment to go forth and help friend where possible. :) - SteVe C
:o( Sorry to hear it. - Just Katie
Steve: agreed. My life is very charmed compared to many people's lives. My mom dying and my divorce were worse, but this sucks. - Robert Scoble
Sorry to hear Robert. - AJ Kohn
:( Sorry to hear Robert. - Roberto Bonini
Not easy at all. I hate that we're going backwards. - Ed Shahzade /NextInstinct
It's happening all over. Hope that doesn't add too much to your workload. - Phil Boiarski
Robert, so sorry to hear that on behalf of RocMan - please send my regards to him. He was one of the hardest working people there. - Jesse Stay
Wow that is incredibly harsh. It's tough enough when you have to lay off employees in general, let alone someone you considered a friend. - Devlin Dunsmore from twhirl
Hang in there buddy. Have unfortunately had too many months of that. Call me if you want to talk to someone. - Patrick Moorhead
Sorry to hear about @rocmanusa. One of my business contacts was laid off yesterday, so it's all over. And Peter, sorry to hear about your layoff. - Ontario Emperor
Sorry to hear this about Rocky :( - directeur
that's too bad. Rocky's a great guy and was a fantastic video editor, producer, friend. Tought times indeed. - Thomas Hawk
Oh wow, that would SUCK big time!! My heart goes out to you...he was a dear friend and collegue to you... I am sorry **** HUG **** . That is scary too isn't it?! - Susan Beebe
Sorry, Robert its tough when your friends are laid off - Kim Landwehr
Bummer Robert. Heartfelt wishes and best of luck to your friend rocmanusa. - JCunwired
sorry, sometimes i think it's harder psychically on the person doing the layoff than the one cut - Dan Perlman from twhirl
That is hard, Robert. I feel for you. @rocmanusa good luck finding something! I am sure @scobleizer will have a great word to help you out! Will root for you! - Robert Couture from Friend Deck
Robert that really sucks! And Rocky, I'm sorry to hear you were let go!!! - Jeff P. Henderson
Nothing harder, Robert. I once built an entire news department, only to fire everyone after a 2 year run. - Doug
Didin't realise it was Rocky till now. Now that really blows, man. Sorry. It sucks. :( - Roberto Bonini
This is sad. Robert, how many people does Fast Company currently employ? - Michael Forian
Dozens. Not sure of the whole number because Mansueto Ventures has Inc magazine too. - Robert Scoble
That sucks, sorry to hear it - and hope Rocky gets straight into a great new gig ... - Patrick Jordan
Sorry, Robert. It's happening everywhere, but that doesn't make it any easier. - Louis Gray
Robert, I would only ask you one thing to make yourself feel better (regret is easy-action is harder) and think outside the box: Given the reverse, what would you like your friend to do for you? How far would you go to protect him or her? This is the kind of innovation, gentlemen (and ladies) that we need right now. Rather than hope, DO. DO everything you can to help your friend get a new job. And don't give up until its done. - Melanie Reed
Melanie: I already have talked with a few people trying to find Rocky a job so I absolutely agree. - Robert Scoble
{hugs} - I'm laid off too. It's a great time for an entrepreneur to grab a bunch of us talented developers and go into stealth mode on some super awesome new web site. I'm game for sure! - iTad
Robert: Then you will both be blessed. I will be praying for you both until I hear its accomplished. - Melanie Reed
It's tough, but i guess it wasn't coming out of the blue. Sometimes good companies just get into this mess because of bad timing. The good news are that some of them might survive the crisis, the bad ones are that no one really knows when this thing is about to end. - Nir Ben Yona
Bummer. :-( - Lisa L. Seifert | FHG™
Sorry to hear that - Adam Sherk
Sorry to hear the news. Rocky rules! - Brian Ziel
From the *Wish It Were Not True Dep't* the likely future of Rocky's (and certainly millions of others) INBOX: Month 1: So sorry! Hugs! Month 2: Don't worry, something will turn up. Month 3: Dude, it's just a rough ride for everyone. Month 4: Maybe you should go back to school. Month 5: You just have to "reinvent" yourself ... yes, AGAIN. Month 6: Why didn't anyone speak up back in February and help Make #BasicIncome http://usbig.net/ Happen? - michael silverton
i hate to say this but this should have been private :( there are just things that shouldn't be made public - especially by a boss. good luck to rocky in any case - - Allen Stern
ooottttaaayyy, that's dreaming. i was finally persuaded the other day to live in the world how it is, not how i would love it to be. (don't you agree you gotta' spot me this one, Robert?) absolutely *not* at Rocky's expense; for honestly, the situation sux beyond belief *heaving sigh of complete empathy* really, we have to think about this on a serious massive scale; we all heard Davos, what are we *doing* about it? are we really going to just sit around believing business as usual will return any day? - michael silverton
"Furthermore, the regular rhythm of the Sabbatical and Jubilee years meant that everyone would know when the next release was due, thereby giving fairness and equity to both creditor and debtor.[45][46] Hudson therefore maintains that not only was the Levitical legislation a significant advance over the prior attempts to deal with indebtedness, but this legislation was also eminently practical, in contradiction to many Biblical interpreters who are not economists and who have labeled it "utopian."" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki... - Melanie Reed
Sorry to hear that. - Steve Rubel
Hard for both of you for sure. Hang in there @rocmanusa. - Micah
Already heard that, and I'm sad for both of you. Read my blog from today:-) - Francine Hardaway
And I hope you didn't do it by email. Like someone did to me. - Francine Hardaway
I'm a big fan of Rocky but I agree with Alex, not sure if this is appropriate way to announce a layoff... it could come across as being more about you than Rocky, you seem to be getting more sympathy than he. - Tom Foremski
I hear you, Robert. It is an awful feeling. - Pete D
You could keep Rocky as a contractor and you'll need to credit him on all the videos he Edited. - paul mooney
Good talent is rarely out of work for long. Good luck to the both of you. - MarkCarras
Sorry to hear, Rocky is a fun guy. Looks like a roadie, but much nicer. - sean percival
ouch. :-) best of luck to Rocky... - Mitchell Tsai
:( ... I met Rocky and u while you guys were in HK last year. Can never expect the world change so quickly for the worst. - Clarence Chiang
Well the good news is they got rid of Ed Sussman already. That had nothing to do with economics - Marc Canter
Here's where FF fails. "I had to lay off my friend" and FriendFiend says 49 people "liked this." So sick. - Michael Markman
Robert, I've had to layoff friends. Several times, and it never gets easier. - Seth Greenblatt from NoiseRiver
Sorry to hear that, I had to lay off my wife at the end of last year, we have worked together for 12 years. - John D Reasor
Francine, I agree. I have had the email layoff experience so I can understand how you feel. - Melanie Reed
This story really illustrates what a CEO friend of mine brings out constantly:is your relationship transactional or relational? Its the paradigm that needs to change. Business and its practices and thoughts have infiltrated our thinking for far too long. The phrase "It's just business." is going to go from grimly and begrudgingly accepted to the painful resentment needed to change it and our behavior towards one another. There are other ways. - Melanie Reed
Resorting to what's always been done, is indicative of running out of ideas. btw- the CEO I mentioned wants to fight the "Transactional" way we treat all our relationships when it comes to business. - Melanie Reed
Francine: i did read your post. Damn. I try never to deliver bad news through email. I hate it when people do that to me and I try to treat others the way I'd like to be treated. Allen: good point, but Rocky announced it on Twitter first and for better or for worse I live my life, good and bad, in public. It isn't always comfortable and it isn't always the best thing to do, I'm sure. But I chose to live my life in public and if I only shared the good stuff in my life you'd be seeing an incomplete picture. - Robert Scoble
Also, my goal now is to help http://www.twitter.com/rocmanu... get a job. One advantage I have is my public network. By getting a crappy situation out here it might help. Already I've talked to a couple of people who saw this news and needed a good video editor. - Robert Scoble
Sorry to hear Robert and it is great you are helping him. One of the big benefits of social networking - Rob Cairns
++Melanie, there are global structural changes underway that could well open the door to these paradigm shifts, but prepare for a painful, and stubbornly lengthy transition. What if http://tr.im/ItIsThatBad ? - michael silverton
Extraordinary: "I chose to live my life in public and if I only shared the good stuff in my life you'd be seeing an incomplete picture." -- RS. I've pointed this out before to others, and RS doesn't need my approval in any way; but this is indeed one of the foundational tenets of @scobleizer's revolutionary lifestyle. I suspect 80% of "followers" haven't the first f'ing clue of the road he's traveled to this point. Yes, Robert, talking about you in ur own thread. Nulle bastardo carborundum, including me. - michael silverton
Thanks everyone. Got to keep as upbeat as possible.After all, nothing lasts forever. This is yet another test of character for me. I'm up for the challenge. I have to be. Robert, thanks for the memories. Good times, yeah? !!! - Rocky Barbanica
oh no. I'm sorry to hear that friends - Jeremiah Owyang
Geez, sorry to hear about this, you guys were a great team. Lots of hard news for Rocky at all once, keep your chin up, you have mad skills! - Phil Glockner
it is a sad day for you both, I'm sure. In this hyper connected world this is becoming all too common. We choose to work with people we know and like and then when the business changes... I've been thinking a lot about companies laying off people, then asking consumers to buy. Hey, we're all the same people on both sides of the spectrum. - Valeria Maltoni
sorry to hear Rocky and Robert, really sad. Good luck Rocky. - Loic Le Meur
Ugh, the recession is leaving nobody untouched. - jjprojects
Perhaps what we need is some outside expertise in Social Collapse Best Practices http://friendfeed.com/e... - michael silverton