Friday at CES, shortly after 1pm, I sought out the Boxee booth to get a glimpse at the product, request a demo.
My curiousity about Boxee is hopeful. Spark Capital put money into Boxee, and the specific partner working on Boxee is Bijan Sabet, a guy I really respect. I worked with Bijan at WebTV/Microsoft. My wife worked for him at Moxi. And, I was with Cerda when Jangl pitched Spark back in 2007. On that last effort, Bijan was very supportive and helpful in our fund-raising effort. And, I've contacted him a few times for insights on the Utterli category because he has two investments in this category.
So, against that backdrop, I wanted to see Boxee and understand what was different about the offering, maybe get a glimpse into what would compel a smart guy like Bijan to invest. Afterall, Bijan knows where the bodies are buried in that space -- his participation makes me think they may have something REALLY interesting. His investment makes me think that there is hope for a business niche I fell hard for in the late 1990s.
So, I hit the booth, explain my background briefly and the demo guy (volunteer) intros the CEO and founder. And, just before he could articulate his name, I was scobled.
Now, all of your senses will tell you that Scoble is average. But you cannot underestimate this guy on a show floor. He will intercept an outstretched hand and hijack your personal demo faster and more awkwardly than any side-winding uber-geek on the planet.
And, he knows how to "roll" too. In this particular instance, he was was rolling with the Best Buy management team. He swooped right into the beginnings of the demo, pimped his entourage and then awkwardly dropped the most ridiculous comment heard that day:
Scoble to Kal Patel of Best Buy--
"You have to see Boxee, it's the hottest thing of this year... it has 200,000 signups and it just launched yesterday."
That statement kind of hit the floor like a brick, and that's when I snapped this wonderful shot of the CEO/founder (eyes still fixed on me). Now, read into the pic what you want to, but the body language on the floor was "I'm sorry".
I didn't even wait for a hint, I stepped back and let Scoble dig after his hyperbolic intro while the execs from Best Buy started asking questions about the investor makeup. I walked away after a few seconds of Scoble watching. I guess I'll get a demo from Boxee another day. But, they certainly don't need my support.
To recap, Scoble thinks Boxee is the hottest thing for 2009 -- forget pitching him your new startup or product idea for coverage, his mind is made up. After nine days. I wonder where that leaves all of his other "influencer marketing" clients.
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