If you watch Internet TV, you probably know about a little outfit called revision3.  There worked, up until today, Martin Sargent and Sarah Lane who, among others, were laid off.  Of course, the spineless CEO claims that the uncertain economic times precipitated his decision.  In the words of Neal Stephenson, this is bullshytt.  Anyone with a little common sense can see that this yet another in a series of layoffs being blamed on the credit crunch.  It is very convenient for the CEO’s of this world to have a scapegoat handy.  Unfortunately, the Internet is an amazing communication vehicle that executives seem to ignore, even when their company is based on it!

There is obviously more to the story than we are led to believe from both sides.  The layoffees are smart enough to not burn any bridges.  They are worked together before and probably will again.  They are taking their time with their blog posts and not pushing back.  The layoffers are trying to quell the storm by posting standard corporate rhetoric.  It may even be the truth, but jaded fans, who almost feel like they have friends in these two online celebrities, take offense to any perceived mistreatment of their icons.  Martin and Sarah have been smart about bringing fans in to the fold and will hold on to them through this.

It is no longer the employee that belongs to the corporation, but the corporation who has the priviledge of being the employer.  The people see the looming battle for human capital and are positioning themselves to be the winners.

Stay interested and interesting!

John