In The Interest Of Full Disclosure

Posted on Monday, April 7, 2008 by MegaZone

I mentioned recently that I was laid off on Friday, March 28. Today I started a new job – with Sling Media. I’ll be working with Sling as a contractor, as a Senior Project Manager. Right now it is a short term contract, but I’m hopeful that it may eventually parlay into a permanent engagement. I wanted to mention it as I cover Sling as well as their competitors and related issues. I don’t foresee any changes to the site, though I will probably add a disclaimer to any Sling-related posts to make the relationship clear.

I’d had conversations with Sling on and off for a long time now about potentially joining the company, including in person at CES. And recently the suggestion of working as a part-time contractor had come up as a possibility. By coincidence they contacted me on March 28th, just after I’d been told I was laid off, to see if I was still interested in doing some part-time work. Since I found myself with a sudden surplus of free time we expanded the contract terms beyond the part time work. The timing couldn’t have been better.

Readers of the blog know that I’m a long-time Slingbox user myself, and a big fan of the company’s products and direction, so I’m very excited to be working there. And I’m hopeful that this contract is only the beginning of a long-term engagement.

About MegaZone

MegaZone is the Editor of Gizmo Lovers and the chief contributor. He's been online since 1989 and active in several generations of 'social media' - mailing lists, USENet groups, web forums, and since 2003, blogging.    MegaZone has a presence on several social platforms: Google+ / Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / LiveJournal / Web.    You can also follow Gizmo Lovers on other sites: Blog / Google+ / Facebook / Twitter.
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  • ADIDAIllini

    I see what is going on here……Echostar is trying to employ all blogers that are/were pro-TiVo and critical of E* during the lawsuit. Very aggressive Mr. Ergen. Very aggressive. :)

  • Cory

    Congrats MegaZone!

  • http://mark_tv.livejournal.com/ MHA

    Hope they gave you a nice engagement ring! :-) Congratulations, MegaZone! Glad you not only landed on your feet but found a great new home.

  • James

    Congrats Megazone, it’s not everyday someone lands a job with a company they are not only proud of, but can also say “I believe in the products we sell”

    Congrats again and Good Luck

    James

  • http://www.tivoblog.com Alex

    Congratulations! I hope it works out for you.

  • Jack

    Congrats on the new job! I hope this isn’t taken the wrong way, but I hope your new job with sling doesn’t cause you to lose interest and write about TiVo. I am not trying to take a shot or jab at Dave Zatz, because I respect the work he has done with his blog. But i have noticed an extreme reduction in writings about TiVo since he landed his job with sling.

    Anyway, congrats!
    Jack

  • http://www.zatznotfunny.com Dave Zatz

    Congrats, Megazone – glad to be working with you ion the other side, too. :)

    Jack, for whatever it’s worth my coverage of TiVo has nothing to do with my day job – other than I have less blogging time available in general. Ironically, I blog much less about Sling now too. I’m hoping with the move behind me and not too many show/trips ahead of me (so far) that I can crank up my post frequency. TiVo might also help by releasing some new stuff for me to cover… ;)

  • John G

    Where did you used to work? Before Sling?

    John G

  • http://www.gizmolovers.com/ MegaZone

    Thanks everyone!

    Jack – I don’t think it will impact my blogging, other than perhaps having less time for a while as I’m trying to come up to speed. And, like Dave, I may ironically end up covering Sling *less*. Since I work there now it could be a conflict of interest to cover rumors, etc. It might seem like my posting a rumor is confirming it, and it might not make management happy if I repeat incorrect info. There shouldn’t be a problem posting about official announcements, or when Sling pops up in the news, etc. Though I may be bringing on guest bloggers who wouldn’t have a conflict of interest.

    John G – A small company in Marlborough, MA – Cyphermint, Inc. I was there over five years, from November 11, 2002 until March 28, 2008.

  • http://www.thenewsbeforethenews.com James Webster

    Best of luck… hopefully you can convince Sling to implement your ‘mimic the Tivo SDK’ idea… or at least provide SOME way to display arbitrary content (feeds, weather, Flickr photos) on a SlingCatcher.

  • vadergirl

    Congratulations MZ!! We look forward to hearing more about Sling Media!

  • http://hdtivo.wordpress.com hdtivo

    Sling is a good place for someone of your talent level, as I believe I metioned the last time you fantasized about working “somewhere.” ;)