Guess Who's Paying for Dinner
The Keegan's Thursday night trivia challenge continues to be a Mecca for all those interested in great food, strong drink, intense competition and the camaraderie of the local blogerati. More and more new faces are showing up each week, and if anyone is interested in joining the MOB, a Thursday night at Keegan's is the best way to go about it. Just last week an aspiring amateur Internet editorialist named Conrad Zero showed up, interfaced with representatives from Nihilist in Golf Pants and Eckernet.com, and now he's an o-fishul member of the organization. We welcome Conrad Zero to the fold.
He also does the service of informing us of another visitor to Keegan's last Thursday, a nationally prominent celebrity, no less. Robert Scoble of Scobleizer fame. To be frank, I'd never heard of the guy before (which Robert shouldn't feel slighted about, since I just started recognizing this fellow named "Mitch Berg" within the last 30 days). But I have been assured by trusted sources that in the world of corporate blogging infotainment, the man is a god. He's a Microsoft employee, paid to blog about all things Microsoft. (He's their Chief Humanizing Officer, according to the Economist). It's a revolution in corporate communications and Robert Scoble is one of the pioneers. And I didn't even know he was at Keegan's until after he left. Instead, I spent much of the evening debating the eating habits of cartoon donkeys with the Atomizer.
Our friend Chuck Olsen of Blogumentary fame (and now a correspondent for the video blog Rocketboom) brought him along, but Robert apparently never strayed from the cabal of MOB members gathered around the men?s room (our faction was located on the other side of the bar). Which teaches me to never reflexively flee excited chattering around the Keegan's men's room again.
Robert didn't tell any tales from his Keegan's experience, but he did promote his appearance in advance. I notice he was looking for "geeks" at Keegan's, which obviously explains why he never recognized me as one of the bloggers.
He also relayed some thoughts on the real purpose of his visit to Minneapolis, a seminar with hometown retailing hero Target, on how they can better utilize blogs in their corporate culture. And here's a listing of other local bloggers reporting on their visits with the Scobelizer, including their dinner at Whitey's. Key phrase to remember for next time he comes to town:
Microsoft took care of the tab. Thanks Robert! Thanks Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer!
Now I really wish I would have met him. Come back soon Robert Scoble.
THE ELDER ADDS: I too am disappointed that I missed an opportunity to chat with Robert last Thursday. Unlike Saint Paul, I was actually well aware of Scoble's corporate blogging fame. In fact, I even posted on it this past February.
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