Forbes has posted their take on the Web Celeb 25, a list of who they consider to be the biggest, brightest and most influential people on the Internet.

We’re not sure if we’d agree with their ranking, but vloggers and video podcasters are well-represented.

Their pick for the No. 1 Web Celeb is faux jailbait vlogger Lonelygirl15. Other Internet videographers to make the cut include video blogger Amanda Congdon, political blogger (?) Robert Scoble, video blogger Hosea Frank (aka ZeFrank), podcaster Leo Laporte and sex educator Violet Blue.

Amanda Congdon is featured in a Business Week article, discussing her upcoming move from the world of video podcasts and vlogs to television:

How do you feel about the move from online to on air?

Well I’m really excited, because [HBO and ABC] are both my first choice in looking at what I am doing in two separate segments. One is more news oriented and the other is entertainment. I really wanted to be at ABC for news, because they’re clearly the leader of this digital movement in terms of other major networks.

[The project for] HBO is going to be a comedy show, and it’s going to be across both the TV and the Internet. No one has yet made original programming for both the television and the Internet. So to play with original programming for both platforms is something I’m excited to do. I think this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of original programming and cross-platform programming.

How will the ABC video blog differ from what you have been doing online?

I think the content will be different. I’m still going to be doing what I do when I’m on camera, but I think that the content will be a little bit more able to go in depth into things. [On Rocketboom,] we would talk about something really quick and move onto the next subject. This will be more in-depth coverage on all the items we bring up.

I do want the news show to have a certain amount of integrity in that, while I will be giving commentary, this will be information that has been verified. It isn’t going to be something that we throw together and hope the facts are right. It’s ABC News, so it definitely needs to be not false information. At Rocketboom, the fact checking was a little bit—it was what it was, it wasn’t always perfect. I was doing it on my own. At ABC, I will have people to help me.

Amanda Congdon, co-founder and former host of Rocketboom, is developing a comedy program for HBO.

“HBO is exactly the place where I want to be,” Congdon said. “I’m most interested in playing in that new dimension with two parallel levels of programming, online and on TV.”

According to Congdon, she’s aiming for a multiplatform property that will include original online video content. She intends to write and star in the series.

via Hollywood Reporter

Ze Frank’s package was one of the highlights of the PodTech Vloggies awards, held Saturday, November 4th, in a ceremony in San Francisco.

Frank, who sent a ducky to the ceremony in his stead, was recognized as the Favorite Male Videoblogger. Frank gave a long-distance acceptance speech, noting “Just the other day, I was saying that my genitals would come in handy….”

The ceremony was hosted by PodTech’s Irina Slutsky, and soap-opera star turned vlogger Daniel McVicar. Other Vloggies winners included Rocketboom, Ryanne Hodson, Ask a Ninja, Diggnation, Galacticast and Alive in Baghdad.

(more…)

Watch Now:

 Ze Frank's Package Honored [0:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Former Rocketboom anchor Amanda Congdon has announced plans to vlog her way across America at a new site, Amanda Across America.

From her Wiki:

As you may know, we will be traveling across the country over the next few weeks. On our way we will visit all kinds of people and places — we may even run into you. So we’ve created this wiki to interact with you.We are asking you, THE FORCE, to suggest points of interest across the USA. We are few and you are a geographically scattered multitude. What is there to see near you? Where would you go if you could? What should we not miss?

We encourage you to link to photos, video, and outside resources. We’d love to meet you, get to know you.

Together we will create a super-awesome interactive guide to America.

You are THE FORCE. And THE FORCE is with us.

Hope to see you soon & thank you in advance for your expert advice.

Mario & Amanda

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